Vehicle fire shuts down portion of I-75 in Whitley County Wednesday

South Interstate 75 in Whitley County was shut down for approximately 20 minutes Wednesday afternoon as Oak Grove firefighters worked to extinguish a vehicle fire.

Chief Kevin Gibbs said firefighters were called to the scene between the 20 and 21–mile markers at approximately 3:45 p.m.

The vehicle, which had been pulled to the shoulder of the roadway, was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

Gibbs said multiple vehicles had already stopped in the roadway as smoke poured from the vehicle and spread across the roadway obscuring drivers’ vision.

“There was just so much smoke, and with the way we head to position the truck, it became a matter of safety to shut down the roadway,” Gibbs said.

Gibbs said the vehicle was destroyed by the fire.

“We have no idea what started it,” Gibbs said asking it is unknown where in the vehicle it originated.

No one was injured.