Interstate 76 reopened near Wiggins on Thursday after a fire closed the highway for just over an hour, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The fire — burning on the border of Weld and Morgan counties — quickly consumed about 1,000 acres of vegetation along I-76, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. It was under control as of 4:15 p.m., Wiggins police said in a post on Facebook.
The flames and smoke shut down I-76 between Roggen, 9 miles east of Keenesburg, and Colorado 52 near Wiggins until 4:17 p.m., according to CDOT officials.
Video footage from a CDOT camera facing the fire around 3 p.m. showed heavy smoke from a large grass fire drifting around and over the interstate. Flames were not visible from the camera, but swathes of blackened, scorched land were shown.
Air resources — including multiple planes, air tankers and at least one helicopter — were dispatched to the fire, state officials said Thursday afternoon.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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