A “hot load” of freshly roasted garlic caught on fire while being transported on a flatbed truck in southeast Morgan Hill Friday, authorities said.
The truck, which was decorated with a George Chiala Farms logo on the driver’s side door, was traveling east on Middle Avenue when one of three large plastic boxes full of roasted garlic ignited, according to Morgan Hill Fire Battalion Chief Tim Main.
The garlic had just been roasted at a different location, and was in transit to a nearby farm facility for processing, Main explained.
Fire crews responded to the blaze about 3:40 p.m. Friday, Main said.
“It didn’t take long for this truck to get fully involved,” Main said.
Due to the gusty winds blowing south at the time of the blaze, fire crews took precautions to keep the fire from spreading to a nearby home on Middle Avenue, Main said.
The only property damage reported was to the truck and two overhead phone or cable lines that were damaged by the blaze, authorities said. No injuries were reported.
Crews from Morgan Hill Fire Department, South County Fire District and CalFire responded to the incident.
Middle Avenue remained closed between Murphy and Sycamore avenues as of about 4:30 p.m. while crews cleaned up the scene.
