YOUR AD HERE »

Vehicle fire shuts down Interstate-70 west of Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels

The engine of a moving van caught fire and engulfed the cab at mile marker 209 on westbound Interstate 70 on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 4. The driver escaped uninjured.
Courtesy Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue |

The engine of a moving van having mechanical problems caught fire and completely engulfed the cab on Sunday evening, Sept. 4, just after 6 p.m. at mile marker 209, according to Steve Lipsher, the public information officer with Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue. The driver escaped unharmed.

Fire responders to the scene shuttled up extra water from exit 205, he said, heading eastbound up the westbound I-70 lanes. Some westbound traffic had remained caught between the tunnels and the fire.

Crews had been putting out flare-ups all night, according a Colorado State Patrol spokesperson, struggling to finally contain the fire.



In the meantime to get I-70 traffic moving, said CDOT spokeswoman Tracy Trulove, crews late at night pushed everything off the interstate onto the shoulder. The two left-most lanes opened before midnight, and the right lane was coned off at that location, as cleanup resumed Monday morning.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.