{"id":387918,"date":"2026-07-06T14:48:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/387918\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T14:48:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:48:46","slug":"waymo-vehicle-catches-fire-during-chaotic-san-francisco-fourth-of-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/387918\/","title":{"rendered":"Waymo vehicle catches fire during chaotic San Francisco Fourth of July"},"content":{"rendered":"

An unoccupied Waymo vehicle caught fire in San Francisco after driving over a firework Saturday night, adding another complication to a chaotic Fourth of July<\/a> marked by fog, gridlock, transit delays and illegal fireworks across the city.<\/p>\n

The incident happened near the 1200 block of Connecticut Street, according to\u00a0a Waymo spokesperson. No one was inside the autonomous vehicle, and no injuries were reported.<\/p>\n

Waymo said it coordinated with the San Francisco Fire Department and local authorities to safely remove the damaged vehicle from the scene.<\/p>\n

“An unoccupied vehicle drove over a small firework in the street and caught fire,” a\u00a0Waymo spokesperson said Sunday. “No one was in the vehicle and there are no injuries reported. We coordinated with the SF Fire Department and local authorities to safely remove the vehicle from the scene.”<\/p>\n

In a separate incident, video\u00a0posted to social media<\/a> showed smoke and sparks near another Waymo vehicle as it drove into a lit firework, this time with passengers inside.<\/p>\n

Throughout the night, social\u00a0media posts showed\u00a0Waymo vehicles stopped<\/a> in a line of traffic and one being\u00a0loaded onto a tow truck<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“On July 4th, extreme traffic congestion in Northern San Francisco disrupted normal operations for several Waymo vehicles,” the Waymo spokesperson said about the congestion. “In coordination with local authorities and emergency services, our roadside assistance team worked quickly to clear our vehicles from the area. Our team is always evaluating ways to strengthen Waymo’s resilience in major traffic disruptions.”<\/p>\n

The Waymo fire follows months of scrutiny over how autonomous vehicles perform during citywide disruptions.<\/p>\n

During a December power outage in San Francisco,\u00a0Waymo acknowledged <\/a>that its robotaxis contributed to congestion<\/a> after a surge in remote-assistance requests at dark traffic signals. The company later said it was rolling out fleet updates and improving emergency response protocols.<\/p>\n

The latest incidents\u00a0came during a difficult night for transportation across San Francisco.<\/p>\n

The city’s rare Golden Gate Bridge fireworks show was largely obscured by fog for many spectators, while traffic remained backed up through the Presidio and nearby neighborhoods late into the night.<\/p>\n

Muni warned that “unprecedented crowds & traffic” were causing significant delays, and Mayor Daniel Lurie told people in a short video that “it’s going to take a while for these clogged streets to empty out.”<\/p>\n

On Lurie’s Instagram page<\/a>, many commenters complained about long waits, overwhelmed transit, blocked streets, limited restrooms and difficulty getting out of the waterfront after the show. Several also mentioned Waymo vehicles they said were stopped or blocking traffic.<\/p>\n

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This article originally published at Waymo vehicle catches fire during chaotic San Francisco Fourth of July<\/a>.<\/p>\n