(The Fresno Bee published the following story by Lisa Aleman-Padilla on its website on September 4.)
FRESNO, Calif. — An old mattress lying too close to a campfire under a Madera County railroad trestle sparked a blaze Wednesday morning that engulfed nearly half of the Fresno River Bridge on Gateway Drive.
Jon Brothers, a battalion chief for the Madera City Fire Department, said reports of a vegetation fire were received shortly before 6 a.m.
When he arrived five minutes later, about 240 feet of the Union Pacific Railroad trestle was aflame.
Brothers said the northwest wind, which is predominant on the Valley floor, helped to keep the fire from consuming the rest of the bridge.
It took firefighters about one hour to contain the blaze, though they spent more time controlling potential flare-ups.
The tracks were shut down and traffic was diverted for several hours.
Fire and railroad investigators delved into the charred rubble about 9 a.m., looking at blackened bridge supports and combing the dry river bottom to determine the fire’s full impact.
“They’re conducting a real thorough investigation,” Brothers said.
Officials believe a transient started the fire.
John Bromley, a Union Pacific spokesman, said about 16 trains per day use the Gateway Drive route.
The company planned to reroute two of its trains to Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks but said all others would be stopped until the bridge re-opens about 8 a.m. today.