Snowplow flambé

Two years ago at this time, a snowplow operator who had been on the job for 28 years was fired when he accidentally drove a $200,000 loader into the frozen Red Lake River in Crookston, Minnesota in an attempt to clear a boat ramp. So far this season, a snowplow slammed into a utility pole in Syracuse, New York; an unsecured snowplow in Rochester, New York, was stolen; a collision with a snowplow killed a driver in Spokane, Washington; and Howell, New Jersey, lost a salt storage shed, 1,800 tons of salt, 19 large plows, and 12 smaller plows to fire. But the most spectacular snowplow incident occurred back in Minnesota. A municipal plow truck valued at $250,000 burst into flames while clearing snow in a Prior Lake neighborhood on Monday. Seeing flames in his rearview mirror, the driver exited the vehicle rather than attempting to fight the fire himself with an extinguisher. With a full tank of fuel, he was described as "visibly shaken." The cause of the fire - which was seen and photographed (2nd and 3rd images) by witnesses - may have been a hydraulic leak. Kim McVety was one of many neighbors who called 911 when she heard a loud noise, looked out her front window, and saw the cab of the snowplow fully engulfed in flames. After learning that the driver was safely out and that they weren't in danger from further explosions, McVety watched firefighters extinguish the blaze from the front porch with her sons. The 2 6-year-old boys commented, "That was way cooler than seeing the fire trucks at the community fair."