At a little before noon on Tuesday, a tour bus caught fire in the southbound lane of the Parks Highway at about milepost 113.
Trapper Creek resident Jason Burguess says he traveled less than one mile south of the Three Bears and saw a plume of dark smoke coming from the side of the road. As he got closer, he noted the tail end of the bus completely engulfed in bright orange flames.
He says people were standing on the shoulder of the road well away from the fire. Emergency services had not arrived yet and Burguess said he heard no sirens as he traveled all the way to Talkeetna. Traffic did eventually stop soon after and other drivers began posting to social media.
Pilot Jason Murdock captured the fire in several images that were posted to a social media page dedicated to Mat-Su happenings. Murdock confirmed a fire engine was on scene by 12:12 pm. No injuries were reported as of Tuesday afternoon.
Trapper Creek Volunteer Firefighters were still on scene at the time of this report and unable to comment. Talkeetna Fire Chief Eric Chappel says they sent a support tender to assist, but that Trapper Creek was the lead agency on the fire.
This report will be updated as new information is available.
