Fire engulfs and guts farm tractor, forcing road to close north of Pasco

What began as a farm employee noticing smoke coming from his tractor’s engine quickly turned into a fast moving blaze Monday north of Pasco.

The worker was part of a convoy of three tractors moving west along Selph Landing Road about 10:20 a.m. to harvest hay when he spotted the smoke, Fire District 3 Chief Mike Harris told the Herald.

He pulled to the side of the road near Taylor Flats Road, opened the engine compartment, spotted flames and called 911.

Once firefighters arrived, they were able to douse it quickly but not before flames had consumed most of the tractor.

They managed to save the hay rake attached to the tractor.

The tractor’s driver had pulled it to a spot where the fire wouldn’t spread, and while the smoke enveloped the power lines, it didn’t cause any problems, Harris said.

Both lanes of Selph Landing were shut down for about an hour while firefighters put out the blaze and surveyed the potential damage.

They were opened up again around 11:30 a.m.