A smoky fire completed engulfed an Oceanside Airport shuttle bus used to take skydivers from the landing zone to the airport, Oceanside Fire Department (OFD) officials said.
The fire broke out at 4:27 p.m. Saturday on the 400 block of Airport Road when the driver called 911 to report smoke from under the hood of the bus.
When fire crews arrived, they found the medium-sized bus fully engulfed in fire on a dirt road adjacent to the runway.
Due to the fire’s close proximity to the runway, Federal Aviation Officials closed the airport for a period of time as a safety precaution. It reopened at 5:09 p.m.
Firefighters extinguished the flames 11 minutes after they arrived, officials said.
The driver told investigators he had been trying to start the engine, but it quit almost right after. When he tried to restart the engine, smoke wafted out from the glove compartment and became a fire, which spread quickly.
Investigators believe the fire started as a result of mechanical failure of the fuel line or fuel system, but because the engine compartment of the car was destroyed, they could not identify an exact cause.
Local
Damage is estimated at $10,000.
No one was injured.
