What Happened on the 15 Freeway Today? Fatal Rollover and Massive Truck Fire Paralyze Traffic
While the Ontario crash paralyzed southbound travel, northbound drivers faced their own crisis along the steep grades of the Cajon Pass. Around 6:15 AM, a northbound semi-truck hauling industrial cargo suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure near Kenwood Avenue, resulting in an intense fire that quickly engulfed the tractor and trailer.
San Bernardino County Fire crews arrived to find the cab fully involved, with flames licking the dry brush alongside the shoulder. Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading to nearby slopes, but extinguishing the cargo required thousands of gallons of water and foam. Diesel fuel spilled across the asphalt, forcing Caltrans maintenance workers to conduct emergency surface scraping and repaving assessments. With three lanes shut down, northbound traffic slowed to a crawl for more than 14 miles, bottlenecking the primary conduit between the Inland Empire and the High Desert cities of Victorville and Hesperia.