HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. (WGNO) — A temporary interstate closure caused backed up traffic from drivers after a fire broke out near the Louisiana and Mississippi state line on Interstate 10.
On Friday, Aug.11, the Mississippi Department of Transportation Twitter page alerted the public about a grass fire in the area causing heavy smoke, limiting visibility around 2:30 p.m.
As a safety precaution, I-10 between MS 607/NASA/Waveland exit 2 and route MS 43/MS 60/Bay St Louis exit 13 was temporarily closed until around 4:30 a.m.
Traffic was diverted eastbound onto Highway 607 and westbound onto Highway 603.
Multiple emergency services including fire, police and sheriff’s from along the Mississippi coast gathered at the strip of I-10 between exits 603 and 607 to fight the flames.
“I got to exit 16, which is three miles away, and then it took me in like an extra just 30 minutes just get three miles, you know? It’s ridiculous. I’m coming from Louisiana, so like we sat for like an hour and a half traffic going like three miles an hour, so it sucked,” said Pensacola residents Alexander Hannah and Madeline Weber.
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