Family escapes burning vehicle

A man, woman and their children are lucky to be alive after the Ford Explorer they were traveling in caught fire Sunday near Wellton at about 1 a.m.

There were no reports of injuries.

According to the Wellton Fire Department, which responded to the scene, the vehicle's driver saidshe noticed smoke coming out of the air conditioner vents and quickly woke her husband and children.

According to the WFD, the driver said they only had time to wake up the children and exit the vehicle before it was fully engulfed.

WFD said when firefighters arrived on the scene on Interstate 8 at Milepost 29, they found the ’90s model Ford Explorer fully engulfed in flames and parked in the emergency lane.

WFD said they quickly attacked the fire to prevent it from spreading into surrounding brush on the side of the road.

According to WFD, it took 55 minutes to extinguish the flames, and the vehicle was considered a total loss. They added that no other structures or vehicles were damaged.

WFD said the cause and origin of the fire were still unknown Sunday afternoon.

---
Chris McDaniel can be reached at cmcdaniel@yumasun.com or 539-6849.