News Photo by Julie Riddle

Firefighters extinguish the last of the flames that decimated the front end of a pickup truck on Bloom Road north of Alpena. The driver, while driving to his deer camp Thursday morning, noticed a smoky smell moments before fire burst through the air vents of his vehicle and into the cab of the truck. With the engine fully engulfed in flame, he pulled into a nearby driveway, which happened to belong to a friend, and called for help. He managed to pull some camp equipment from the back of the truck, but, by the time firefighters from the Alpena Township north side fire station extinguished the flames, the vehicle’s front end was destroyed, with an engine charred crisp and front tires melted completely off.