Construction on part of the High-Speed Rail project came to a halt on Wednesday as crews battled a fire at the Church Avenue overpass in Southeast Fresno.
“There’s a lot of plywood and lumber that’s involved in this,” Josh Sellers with Fresno Fire said.
Workers, all unharmed, watched as firefighters attacked from above.
“We have the railroad tracks here that we ended up having to close down and stop the trains because we have a ladder truck in place that’s blocking the tracks,” Sellers said.
The fire began shortly before 9 AM, likely due to routine construction, investigators say.
Aerial video from the High-Speed Rail Authority last year appears to show the impacted structure.
“This is the shoring framework that the concrete is then poured in place, and that becomes the permanent structure,” Sellers said on Wednesday.
The fire is the latest twist in a controversial project. The California High-Speed Rail is more than six years behind and nearly $100 billion over budget.
“We care about folks in Fresno, Kings, Tulare,” Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday. “We care about folks all across the Central Valley.”
The comments came at an event in Kern County, where officials opened a new facility to lay down track.
Eleven years after groundbreaking in Fresno, the project is still not operating.
“This is not just a transportation project,” Governor Newsom said. “This is about reimagining the future of this region. One of the fastest, most dynamic regions – fastest growing – in the state of California. It’s a point of pride.”
On Wednesday, the High-Speed Rail Authority issued a statement confirming everyone evacuated safely.
“Thanks to the work of (the) Fresno Fire Department, the fire has been extinguished,” a spokesperson said. “We will continue to support and coordinate … as needed.”
The overpass is scheduled to be finished by next month. There is no word on how the fire will impact that timeline.
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