A solid waste collector with the city of Oak Harbor saved a garbage truck this afternoon by dumping trash on the side of Highway 20.

Dave Zylstra said he was driving a load of garbage to the transfer center in Coupeville when he started smelling smoke. He looked at his rearview mirror and saw that the smoke was coming from the back of his truck.

He stopped the truck and looked in the back. Flames were quickly spreading across the load of trash.

In order to save the truck from a fiery death, he unloaded the garbage at a pull-out near the intersection with Libbey Road. Firefighters with Central Whidbey Fire and Rescue responded and doused the smokey trash with water.

Zylstra said he was unsure what kind of combustible material in the garbage may have sparked the fire. It’s relatively rare for garbage to start on fire; the last time it happened to an Oak Harbor garbage truck was about ten years ago, he said.

The truck wasn’t damaged, Zylstra said, but will need a good washing.