BOAT CAST ADRIFT ON FREEWAY PICKUP TRUCK CATCHES FIRE, SNARLS TRAFFIC ON I-5.

Byline: Amy Raisin Darvish Staff Writer

NEWHALL - A pickup truck towing a large boat caught fire Friday morning on Interstate 5 in the Newhall Pass, closing two lanes and snarling heavier-than-usual traffic as motorists hit the highway for the holiday weekend, authorities said.

The fire occurred about 10:20 a.m. on the southbound I-5 at Weldon Canyon, destroying the two-door pickup and singeing the bow of the boat. No one was injured, and the cause of the fire was undetermined, according to the California Highway Patrol.

``The driver heard a noise and pulled to the right shoulder,'' CHP Officer Michelle Esposito said. ``The boat was singed, but it was otherwise OK. The truck was completely burned. It just made already busy traffic that much worse.''

Two southbound lanes were closed for about 90 minutes, halting traffic back to Magic Mountain Parkway in Valencia. Northbound getaway traffic was clogged back to Roxford Street.

Flames spread from the truck to the brush-covered slope and burned a small area before firefighters doused the blaze.

``There were already a lot of people out on the road by then, trying to get a head-start on the holiday traffic,'' Esposito said. ``Nobody was hurt, but it was an inconvenience.''

Esposito reminded the public that the CHP is operating a ``maximum enforcement period'' on the state's highways that began at 6 p.m. Friday and will run until midnight Monday. Such operations include increased patrols to target holiday motorists who drive drunk.

Amy Raisin Darvish, [phone]

amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

A pickup truck pulling a boat sits in ruins after it caught fire on I-5 freeway Friday. Two southbound lanes were closed for about 90 minutes.

David Crane/Staff Photographer