Car Fire Jams Temecula Traffic Near I-15 Freeway

TEMECULA, CA —The engine of a white SUV caught fire Wednesday midday at the busy Jefferson Avenue and Winchester Road intersection in Temecula, Patch readers reported.

Just before 11 a.m., Cal Fire/Riverside County Firefighters and Riverside County Sheriff's Department arrived to find the single vehicle actively burning. They extinguished the fire by 11:30 a.m., according to a Cal Fire spokesperson.

A column of smoke could be seen from the 15 Freeway as it poured from the engine compartment while firefighters doused the blaze, according to pictures taken by Patch reader Michel Demma.

The vehicle would be towed away, but not before snarling traffic in the area until almost noon.

There were no injuries to emergency responders or the driver, according to Cal Fire spokesperson Maggie De La Rosa. The cause for the blaze was not immediately released.