LOS ANGELES, CA – A tour bus reportedly carrying members of the indie pop band MUNA caught fire on the southbound 5 Freeway in Burbank on Monday morning, closing several lanes during the commute, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said it received a call at about 8:20 a.m. Monday, Oct. 19, about a burning bus driving down the southbound freeway. The driver reportedly did not realize the bus was on fire, and he pulled over just past the Buena Vista Street off-ramp.
The Burbank Fire Department responded and put out the fire. No injuries were reported, and the rear of the bus was heavily damaged.
Several southbound lanes were shut down during the busy morning commute, and the lanes reopened after the bus was towed.
Driver pulls over past Buena Vista Street
The call to the CHP described a bus that was still moving on the southbound 5 Freeway while it was burning. The agency said the driver reportedly did not know the bus was on fire when the call came in.
The driver then pulled the bus over just past the Buena Vista Street off-ramp. Everyone aboard got off the bus after it stopped.
The bus is a private tour coach, not a public transit vehicle.
Burbank firefighters put out the blaze
Firefighters from the Burbank Fire Department responded to the southbound freeway just past the off-ramp. They extinguished the fire on the bus.
The department reported no injuries. The back end of the bus sustained the heaviest damage, according to the information available Tuesday.
Several lanes closed during the morning commute
The closure came while commuters were heading south on the 5 Freeway through Burbank. Several lanes were shut down, and the closure caused a large traffic backup.
The lanes reopened once the bus had been towed away from the roadway. Caltrans District 7, which operates the state highway system in the Los Angeles area, was among the agencies involved in managing the freeway.
Caltrans publishes annual crash data on California state highways, covering one calendar year at a time from January 1 to December 31. The page does not include a figure for vehicle fires on this stretch of the 5 Freeway.
Band says everyone is safe
MUNA wrote in a post Monday: “Many personal items were lost but we’re all safe, thank goodness.”
According to initial reports, the bus was traveling after the band’s Sunday night concert at Stanford, part of its Gets So Hot Tour. The band’s guitarist also thanked the Burbank Fire Department for its help in a post.
Upcoming shows on the tour
MUNA is scheduled to play Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on Oct. 21. The band is then scheduled to perform at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Oct. 22.
Cause of the bus fire is under investigation
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The CHP and the Burbank Fire Department had not released a cause or the name of the bus operator as of Tuesday.
