Smoke rises from a burning truck on southbound Interstate 15 in Cedar Pocket, Ariz., on July 6, 2024 | Screenshot courtesy of Rebecca Hill video, St. George News
SAINT GEORGE – A vehicle fire caused the temporary closure of southbound Interstate 15 through the Virgin River Gorge Saturday night.
The Arizona Department of Transportation reported on its Facebook page shortly before 7 p.m. that southbound I-15 was closed near the Utah state line near Cedar Pocket, Arizona, due to a vehicle fire at mile marker 25.
Motorists should expect delays and seek alternate routes. There is no estimated time for the highway to reopen. Northbound I-15, however, remains open. An ADOT webcam and traffic map indicated traffic was backed up for several miles.
Video provided to St. George News shows a firefighter hosing down the truck and trailer, which appeared to be completely destroyed by the fire.
Unconfirmed comments on Facebook claimed that there were horses in the trailer that got out of the trailer in time.
For real-time traffic information, visit az511.gov and the AZ511 application.
This report is based on social media and does not include full results.
Video below courtesy of Rebecca Hill.
Updates 9:30 p.m.: St. George Fire Department Chief Robert Stoker texted St. George News with more details about the incident Saturday night on the Arizona Strip.
Stoker said the call came in at 5:26 p.m. reporting a truck and horse trailer on fire.
He said the responding units and personnel included three St. George fire trucks, Stoker himself and his battalion chief.
The Beaver Dam/Littlefield Fire Department dispatched a brush truck, ambulance and tanker along with BLM resources, Stoker said.
All units converged near milepost 25 on southbound I-15, Stoker said.
“They managed to get the horses out of the trailer, so there were no injuries or injuries to the horses or people,” he said.
He repeated part of what had been reported earlier, that southbound I-15 was closed in both lanes “for a few hours” and then reopened to one lane.
He reported that southbound traffic was still backed up to the Utah-Arizona border as his locomotives and crews returned to St. George around 9:20 p.m.
Other agencies responding to the incident, Stoker said, included the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Mojave County Sheriffs, BLM law enforcement and the Arizona Department of Transportation.
This information is based on statements from emergency responders and may not include the full findings.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.
