I-5 tire fire creates big black cloud

A large black cloud was visible for miles Saturday after a car on the Golden State Freeway was pinned under a tire-hauling cargo trailer that burst into flames, fire officials said. The family inside the car, en route to Disneyland, escaped unharmed.

Three of five southbound lanes were closed for nearly 10 hours as crews unloaded hundreds of tires from the 53-foot-long trailer, cleaned pavement and restored lane stripes, said California Highway Patrol Officer Jose Nunez.

The tractor-trailer was traveling south on the freeway when it collided with the sedan just north of Whittier Boulevard, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The sedan became trapped under the trailer, and relatives from a trailing vehicle rescued the three passengers, who suffered only minor injuries, Humphrey said.

-- Deborah Schoch