A pickup truck sparked a massive fire on Monday afternoon, blocking two lanes of Interstate 40 near Chapel Hill.
The fire started before 12:30 p.m. Two westbound lanes were closed on I-40 near Exit 270 for U.S. Highway 15/U.S. Highway 501. At 12:50 p.m., a traffic camera from the state Department of Transportation showed a large plume of smoke beside the highway at Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard. The fire charred a large portion of grass beside the interstate, and the smoke plume towered far above the tree line.
A WRAL News employee passing the fire captured video of the blaze. Later, Sky 5 flew overhead at 1:30 p.m. as a scorched pickup truck was being loaded on a tow truck.
Firefighters were using hoses on hot spots in the grassy shoulder even after the pickup truck fire was extinguished.