Nov 17, 2022 2 min read

A tractor-trailer fire on Interstate 70 near Eighty Four closed the eastbound lanes of the highway for several hours Thursday morning.

Fire crews from multiple departments were dispatched shortly before 6:30 a.m. and found the rig ablaze while parked on the shoulder of the interstate in Somerset Township.

The trailer and its contents were destroyed in the fire, according to photographs posted on the Bentleyville Volunteer Fire Department’s Facebook page. The name of the driver was not immediately released, but state police said the person was not injured.

It was not clear when the interstate would fully open to traffic.

Both eastbound lanes of the interstate were closed for more than four hours between the Eighty Four and Dunningsville exits while crews fought the fire, according to the state Department of Transportation. Motorists were detoured onto secondary roads until one eastbound lane opened shortly before 11 a.m., although traffic remained backed up while crews removed the wreckage from the highway.

In addition to Bentleyville, fire departments from Ellsworth, Valley Inn, Fallowfield, North Strabane and South Strabane responded to the call. Charleroi Fire Department was dispatched to cover Bentleyville’s station during the tractor-trailer fire, which is under investigation.