12 Firefighters Sent To Hospital In Temecula Trash Truck Blast

TEMECULA, CA — A CR&R trash truck that caught fire and exploded Monday in Temecula left at least one person with minor injuries and damaged two Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department fire engines, authorities confirmed.

The fiery incident was reported at 10:36 a.m. at Rancho California and Butterfield Stage roads.

According to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, the explosion left one civilian with minor injuries and two fire engines were damaged.

Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department spokesperson Tawny Cabral could not speculate on the extent of the trucks' damage and said the agency's mechanics still needed to give their assessment.

Crews and trucks from Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department Stations 84 and 95 were at the scene. It's unconfirmed whether the trucks were out of either one, or both, of those stations.

Rancho California Road was closed at the incident scene and was expected to remain that way until approximately 2:15 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Shortly after 2 p.m., Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department reported, "Crews remain on scene actively working on fire suppression and are anticipated to remain on scene for several hours."

According to preliminary reports from the CHP, some firefighters experienced ringing in their ears due to the explosion, which caused pieces of the trash truck to fly into the air and smash into at least one nearby vehicle.

A total of 12 firefighters were transported to three area hospitals for evaluation, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

The cause of the fire and explosion are under investigation. CR&R's fleet of trash trucks run on natural gas.