Brush fire leads to accidents on I-80

Traffic is stopped on Interstate-80 this afternoon in eastern Iowa, after smoke from a brush fire led to a chain-reaction crash. State Patrol Lieutenant Frank Fisher says it began about 2-30 PM. Fisher says authorities got a report that there was a brush fire with wind blowing the smoke across the road and causing poor visibility, before they could get out to do something about it, another call alerted them there’d been an accident. Officers arrived to find several vehicles involved, including at least 3 semi trucks. Eastbound traffic was blocked at the 273 mile marker, near the Muscatine exit off Interstate-80 in eastern Iowa. They’re routing traffic off at the exit before that, mile 271, and he says it’s not a very big delay because drivers “can just slip right off and back on again fairly quickly right there.” Wreckers were called to untangle the pile of vehicles, and troopers on the scene said it didn’t appear anyone had suffered life-threatening injuries. Westbound traffic was slowed near the scene but there was no blockage and the westbound travel is proceeding on Interstate 80.