Fresno County Man Airlifted to Burn Unit After Track Loader Fire

A worker suffered burns across his body and was airlifted to a burn unit Monday morning after the compact track loader he was operating caught fire in Fresno County, leaving investigators searching for a cause.

CAL FIRE crews were called to the scene near Belmont and Academy Avenues at approximately 8:30 a.m. to find the tractor fully engulfed in flames. The worker had been using the machine to level dirt when fire broke out. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing smoke rising from beneath the equipment before the fire spread.

The operator managed to climb out through the window and escape the burning machine before it was fully consumed. He was transported by air to the burn unit at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno with burns covering much of his body. His condition was not immediately disclosed.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Compact track loaders, which run on rubber tracks and are widely used for grading and earthmoving on agricultural and construction sites across the San Joaquin Valley, can be vulnerable to engine fires when debris builds up around hot mechanical components, though investigators have not yet identified what ignited this machine.

CAL FIRE's Fresno-Kings Unit is leading the investigation into the incident.