ACHS water polo bus catches fire en route to game
At approximately 2:43 p.m. today a bus carrying more than 30 members of American Canyon High School’s water polo teams caught fire one block from the high school. There were no injuries.
Both sides of Newell Drive between Silver Oak Trail and Granite Springs Way were closed off due to the incident, disrupting school pick-up for parents traveling southbound toward American Canyon High School.
The bus carried both boys and girls varsity teams. They were headed to a 4 p.m. game at Napa High School.
“The bus filled with smoke and we had to get off,” said Alexis Oani, a water polo team member, describing the scene to the Current. There was no back up bus, she added.
“If we miss [the game] it will be our first loss of the season,” a fellow teammate on girls varsity chimed in. The girls’ game is scheduled for 5 p.m. The boys’ game, set for 4 p.m., would likely have to be forfeited.
“There was a fire in the engine compartment of the bus. The whole back of the bus was on fire,” Assistant Fire Chief Cliff Campbell told the Current. He guessed that the issue was mechanical.
“It did fill up the entire bus with smoke. There were no injuries. All the kids got out; staff did a good job getting everybody evacuated.”
According to Campbell, both sides of Newell Drive were closed because the fire hydrant was on the opposite side from the bus, and they needed plenty of water to extinguish the blaze.
“They got the majority of the fire knocked down. But there’s still smoke,” he said. Campbell added that they’re working with the police department on traffic flow.
By 4 p.m., the southbound stretch of Newell Drive had reopened to traffic. Northbound remained closed.
Oct. 22 update: Girls Varsity are on fire, as it were — they remain undefeated, despite the set back! Boys Varsity lost to Napa High that night. Better luck next time!
