I-20 reopened after ETX 18-wheeler fire snarls traffic

SMITH COUNTY, TX (KLTV) - Traffic is flowing again on Interstate 20 in Smith County after an 18-wheeler fire closed the westbound lanes late Monday night.

Around 9:30 p.m., crews from Red Springs and Winona fire departments responded to the intersection of I-20 and Highway 155, about three miles south of Winona.

State Trooper Richard Hoover said the truck, hauling oilfield equipment, blew a tire. The unidentified driver pulled over and noticed a hydraulic line had ruptured on the trailer, causing flames to spread across the trailer. Hoover said the driver tried to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher. "Unfortunately the fire was too big for his fire extinguisher, which caused the whole trailer to catch on fire."

The truck was not involved in a collision.

Westbound lanes of I-20 were diverted around the fire, but reopened by midnight.

Fire crews also had to extinguish a roadside brush fire sparked by the truck, according to DPS.

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