Maybe it’s the sort of knowledge that separates the class G from the class D licenses, but there must be some literature somewhere that explicitly states that swerving one’s burning truck from side-to-side is not an effective method of fire-fighting.

What started the fire isn’t known, nor was the name of the driver released, but one afternoon on a scenic stretch of Interstate 70 through Ohio, a flatbed hauling bales of hay ignited and the driver got it in his head to swerve about, hoping the wind would “blow out” the fire. Surprisingly, the idea reaped different results. With each lurch of the truck another flaming bale toppled off, coming to a flaming halt on the road or igniting the grass at its shoulder.

By the time the trucker gave up on his fire-fighting tactics, about six miles of I-70 were smoldering. The freeway remained closed for two hours while crews put out assorted grass fires.

» Scott Saxon