Murray • A semitrailer hauling thousands of gallons of fuel caught fire Thursday evening, closing Interstate 15 in Midvale in both directions.
Lt. Todd Royce of the Utah Highway Patrol said the truck was southbound on the interstate at 7500 South at 7:20 p.m. when a tire caught fire, sending flames toward the tanks.
The main tank was carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline, Royce said, while a trailer was carrying 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
Go for it! Here’s a better one pic.twitter.com/ZuG4X9IlkA
— Oz Lopez (@neoncrisis) January 19, 2018
Northbound I-15 was closed at 9000 South, and southbound was closed at 7200 South on Thursday night, and the Interstate 215 interchange in that span was inaccessible, as were surface streets in the area.
On Friday morning, the two righthand lanes on southbound I-15 remained closed at 7200 South and reopened just before 1 p.m. The HOV lane on southbound I-15 was open to all commuters from 5400 South to 9000 South.
Several agencies, including the Unified, Murray, South Jordan and West Jordan fire departments tried to stop the flames Thursday night. The Utah Department of Transportation and U.S. National Guard were assisting.
At 10:10 p.m., UDOT reported that the fire was mostly contained and northbound I-15 lanes were open. Unified Fire Authority announced that the fire was out just after 10:30 p.m.
(Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Firefighters attempt to put out a burning semitrailer that was hauling thousands of gallons of fuel on Interstate-15 in Midvale Thursday, January 18, 2018. Lt. Todd Royce of the Utah Highway Patrol said the truck was southbound on the interstate at 7500 South at 7:20 p.m. when a tire caught fire, sending flames toward the tanks.
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