Plumes of black smoke filled the skies over Morgan Crossing Tuesday after fire engulfed the cab of a semi-trailer headed south on Highway 99 around 12:45 p.m.

Exactly what caused the fire is unclear, deputy fire Chief Jon Caviglia said, however, there were no reports of injury.

鈥淟ots of fire, but not much story,鈥� Caviglia said the next day.

Onlookers who lined Croydon Drive to get a glimpse of the fire told Peace Arch News they heard several 鈥渂ig booms鈥� and came running to see what had happened.

鈥淲e could feel the heat,鈥� said Brian Carse, a South 性视界传媒 resident who spotted the smoke from Morgan Crossing.

鈥淚 actually shot video when it exploded. A car was driving by just as it blew 鈥� it must鈥檝e scared the crap out of them.

鈥淚 hope he got out,鈥� Carse said of the driver.

Warren Anderson was on his way to lunch when he heard the noise.

鈥淭he battery blew up first, then the tires started exploding,鈥� said Anderson, who manages the Grandview Corners area.

鈥淭he flames were probably at first 50 to 60 feet. It鈥檚 pretty wild.鈥�

Ian Demrey, a Cloverdale resident, said the rig was smoking when he passed it in the 2600-block of the highway. Demrey described the vehicle, which was pulling a load of cement blocks, as a training tractor.

The sight was one to behold, he said.

鈥淚 was like, holy smokes,鈥� Demrey said of his first reaction. 鈥淔irst time I鈥檝e seen a rig burn right down like that.鈥�

Caviglia said firefighters used foam to extinguish the blaze, then pumped fuel out of the rig鈥檚 tanks to prevent further problems.

鈥淭he tanks had been compromised,鈥� he said.

Emergency crews were on the scene for several hours Tuesday, as southbound traffic slowly maneuvered past.