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School bus burns on 101; no one hurt
Photo by Chuck Kirman Star/staff Conejo Grade August 28, 2007: Ventura County firefighters put out a fire on a school bus in the Southbound lanes of the Conejo Grade. Kids were not on the bus and the driver was uninjured. Firemen broke the front window of the bus for more air flow to ventilate. Traffic was backed up for miles.
STORY TOOLS 
More from Conejo ValleyA school bus caught fire Tuesday morning while heading up the Conejo Grade on southbound Highway 101, sending a large plume of smoke into the sky above Newbury Park.
No students were aboard the bus at the time, according to the California Highway Patrol, and nobody was injured. The fire was reported shortly after 9:30 a.m.
Witnesses said they saw smoke and then flames coming out of the back of the bus. The bus driver managed to pull out of heavy traffic and parked the bus on the side of the highway. The fire sent a thick column of smoke into the morning sky.
Fuel leaked out of a tank on the bus.
Firefighters used sand to keep the fuel from draining down the highway.
The highway was fully reopened shortly after noon.
The bus apparently belonged to Durham School Services, a private bus company.
The fire's cause was still under investigation Tuesday.
Ventura County Fire Department personnel spent much of the morning making sure the fire was fully extinguished.
Much of the bus's interior was blackened by the smoke and fire and its front windshield was smashed.
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