Cardboard deemed cause of garbage truck fire

A garbage truck fire Monday morning on state Highway 500 in Vancouver was caused by cardboard lodged between the truck’s cab and body, according to the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office.

The fire was reported at 8:49 a.m. at the westbound Thurston Way offramp and put up a large plume of black smoke, video shared on social media showed.

Lead Deputy Fire Marshal Dean Bray said it appears six Vancouver fire units were assigned to the blaze. Firefighters arrived to find the truck’s front end on fire.

The Washington State Department of Transportation closed the ramp until about 1:50 p.m. as firefighters battled the fire and mopped up. No one was injured.

Washington State Patrol troopers assisted at the scene, Bray said, and the truck was towed to another location to finish extinguishing the fire.

Bray said the cause was determined to be a “considerable amount of cardboard” that caught fire in the engine area. The whole front end was burned up, he said, and he was unsure if the truck was repairable.