By PETE KLEIN

Express News Staff

BLUE MT. LAKE - Friday afternoon was the start of the Memorial Day weekend for many, and for many traveling north or south between Blue Mt. Lake and Long Lake their plans were temporarily frustrated when they found themselves stuck in traffic.

Traffic came to a halt at about 3:20 p.m. when a 1996 Dodge Ram pickup truck caught fire on Rt. 28/30 almost a half a mile north of the trailhead to Blue Mountain.

According to Indian Lake Volunteer Fire Department Chief Paul Strain, the owner of the vehicle put in a 911 cell phone call to report he had pulled over to the side of the road while headed north to Long Lake when smoke started coming out the vents on the dashboard.

The call went in to Hamilton County Dispatch, which alerted the Indian Lake and Blue Mt. Lake fire departments. In addition, the sheriff and State Police sent patrols to the scene.

The driver of the vehicle had safely exited his truck but the truck was fully involved by the time fire departments arrived on the scene.

With fire trucks and police cars blocking the highway, it wasn’t long before traffic became blocked in both directions.

The truck was totally destroyed. The traffic jam began to unravel itself after about an hour after the call went in to Hamilton County Dispatch.