Highway 20 East of Bend Re-Opened after Semi-Trailer Fire

OSP says the driver will not face any charges in the incident.

Photo: Oregon State Police

(BEND, Ore. ) - Highway 20 about sixty miles east of Bend near Hampton was reopened early Thursday morning after a nearly 6-hour closure caused by a fire to a cargo of cardboard on a semi-trailer.

The load and trailer have been moved off the highway as it continued to burn while it was monitored by ODOT and BLM personnel.

At approximately 10:15 PM a Kenworth truck towing a flatbed semi-trailer loaded with cardboard for recycling was traveling westbound on Highway 20E near milepost 58.

The truck was hauling cardboard from Idaho to Springfield to be recycled and was bound into large bale-like bundles.

A fire started on the trailer from an unknown origin.

The driver, Michael Asbury, age 30, no known address available, was able to separate the trailer before the flames caused any damage to the truck.

Using a bulldozer, ODOT was able to separate the load from the trailer and move the fire damaged trailer to the side of the highway.

The load continues to burn on the shoulder as ODOT and BLM monitor its status.

The location of the fire was outside of Deschutes and Harney County fire districts.

ODOT utilized a water truck to cool the fire.

Highway 20-E was closed for approximately 6 hours until one lane was reopened at approximately 5:00 AM.

The trailer was towed to Burns.

An Oregon State Police trooper investigating the incident conducted a truck inspection that revealed no violations and led to no citations being issued at this time.