20 tons of chocolate go up in flames when semi-truck catches fire in California

(KTXL) -- A semi-truck carrying 40,000 pounds of chocolate went up in flames on Monday morning in Northern California's Placer County, according to CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer.

At around 4:30 a.m., crews responded to the area of Interstate 80 and Highway 174 near Colfax for reports of a commercial vehicle fire.

When crews arrived on scene they found a fully involved fire in the trailer of the semi-truck and were able to keep the flames from spreading into the surrounding forestland.

Footage from KCRA showed large heaps of chocolate melting in the heat, dripping off the wreckage of the vehicle and rocks along the side of the road.

Such fires can be especially tough to extinguish, according to Danish transport company DSV.

"Chocolate, or more so cocoa, is highly flammable. If it catches fire, the blaze is difficult to extinguish since cocoa powder contains 10 to 20 percent fat and has a huge surface area," according to the DSV website. "The main danger lies when storing or transporting cocoa in large quantities."

No injuries were reported.