October 10, 2026 4:24 AM

Freight Train Locomotive Catches Fire near I-40 Saturday Night

ESSEX, CA. (Pain In The Pass) >> A Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF Railway) locomotive caught on fire Saturday night in San Bernardino County.

Around 9:11pm on June 7, 2025, San Bernardino County Fire were called to the area of Goffs Road/Route 66 in the town of Essex on a report of a train that was fully engulfed in flames. Essex is a small unincorporated community in San Bernardino County next to Interstate 40 and about 30 miles from the city of Needles.

Fire appears to have started in engine of lead locomotive. The crew evacuated safely from the train.

 The SBCFD said it took firefighters over an hour to get the fire under control and the locomotive was deemed a total loss. Also, they prevented any threat to surrounding desert vegetation.

No injuries were reported.

There are more ways to follow the Pain In The Pass. Join the Traffic Group on Facebook with over 160,000 members. Join the group on MeWe. Like us on the NEW page on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram, and also follow us on Threads, and X aka Twitter.

loader-image
Cajon Pass
4:24 am, Oct 10, 2026
temperature icon 65°F
overcast clouds
Humidity: 35 %
Pressure: 1005 mb
Wind: 8 mph
Wind Gust: 7 mph
Clouds: 96%
Visibility: 10 km
Sunrise: 6:50 am
Sunset: 6:21 pm
  • Temperature
  • Precipitation
  • Rain Chance
  • Wind
  • Humidity
  • Pressure
5:00 am
temperature icon
59°/65°°F 0 mm 0% 8 mph 35% 1005 mb 0 mm/h
8:00 am
temperature icon
63°/65°°F 0 mm 0% 10 mph 36% 1005 mb 0 mm/h
11:00 am
temperature icon
71°/74°°F 0 mm 0% 11 mph 27% 1005 mb 0 mm/h
2:00 pm
temperature icon
73°/73°°F 0.16 mm 16% 15 mph 22% 1003 mb 0 mm/h
5:00 pm
temperature icon
69°/69°°F 0.2 mm 20% 9 mph 33% 1002 mb 0 mm/h
8:00 pm
temperature icon
64°/64°°F 0.45 mm 45% 6 mph 39% 1002 mb 0 mm/h
11:00 pm
temperature icon
61°/61°°F 0.84 mm 84% 1 mph 50% 1001 mb 0 mm/h
2:00 am
temperature icon
58°/58°°F 0.28 mm 28% 6 mph 64% 998 mb 0 mm/h