Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Missed All the Fun

Semitrailer fire uncorks vintage cargo in Wyoming

WAMSUTTER, Wyo. — Battling an intensely hot fire after a semitrailer crashed on Interstate 80, emergency crews were surprised to find themselves suddenly fired upon — by corks from exploding wine bottles inside.

"The corks were popping out of the bottles like the old Jiffy Pop we grew up with," Wyoming Highway Patrol Lt. Scott Keane said. "My trooper got hit in the arm with one."

The fire Thursday was so intense it burned the trailer down to its axles, melted the tires and damaged about 75 feet of pavement.

Keane said no one was injured, and the driver, Cyndy Brown of Arkansas, escaped the fire.

Theresa Herbin, public relations specialist for the Wyoming Department of Transportation, said the wines were merlot, pinot noir, riesling and others from Washington and Oregon. "There were a few bottles that didn't explode," but they vanished overnight.


Dangit! I and another of our drivers were just there around my birthday - we were on location about five or six miles (as the crow flies - oilfield roads meander in an incredible fashion) southeast of Wamsutter.

Heh - undamaged bottles vanishing overnight? Who knew?

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