Nitrogen Truck Fire Closes Highway 17 Wednesday Night

Update: 12:19 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 6: Fire crews responding to a tractor-trailer fire that erupted at about 10 p.m. Wednesday evening near Summit Road are saying residents who live in the Redwood Estates community in Los Gatos weren't evaculated due to the blaze and that no injuries have been reported.

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A big-rig that caught fire on state Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains closed the highway in both directions Wednesday night.

The fire was reported at 10:11 p.m. near the summit of the winding road between San Jose and Santa Cruz.

California Highway Patrol announced the highway would be closed in both directions at 10:36 p.m. Traffic was being rerouted on Bear Creek Road and Summit Road to avoid the fire.

The big-rig involved was a nitrogen tanker truck that caught fire near Redwood Estates, according to the CHP traffic incident report posted online. The flames spread to a nearby hillside.

There was no information immediately available about what caused the crash or if there were any injuries. The CHP also did not provide a time estimate of when the highway would reopen.

—Bay City News contributed to this report