Snowmobile fire - fire extinguishers?

[dippasan]

My sled caught fire last March in the Carrabassett Valley in Maine. My wife and I had just filled up with fuel. That being said there was NO WAY I was going to make any attempt to put it out. I did not want to get close to it. We knew that once the gas tank was breached it would get bad and it did.
The heat was so intense it started to make the trail side trees smolder a bit. We backed away 50' or so and watched it go up in disbelief. It was gone in an hour. The only thing left was the engine, some suspension parts and 108 pics.

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by dippasan

My sled caught fire last March in the Carrabassett Valley in Maine. My wife and I had just filled up with fuel. That being said there was NO WAY I was going to make any attempt to put it out. I did not want to get close to it. We knew that once the gas tank was breached it would get bad and it did.
The heat was so intense it started to make the trail side trees smolder a bit. We backed away 50' or so and watched it go up in disbelief. It was gone in an hour. The only thing left was the engine, some suspension parts and 108 pics.

Ouch, that hurts to see. Do you know what caused it?

[dippasan]

Originally Posted by chipj29

Ouch, that hurts to see. Do you know what caused it?

I can't really say for sure what caused it but I think the engine went into a lean condition and melted piston/cylinder. The flames shooting out the right side while I was riding melted my snow pants and boot. If the fuel filter on the injected sleds gets clogged the engine goes very lean. Lean means very hot which is catastrophic for a 2 stroke. It definitely was not the brakes being locked on as some think.
On another note I bought a Ski doo 800 etec this year to try something different. Not happy.