UPS truck catches fire, backs up traffic on I70 at 63

A UPS freight shipping truck caught fire Friday morning, causing delays on I-70.

It happened around 11 a.m. Friday on westbound I-70, just west of the Highway 63 connector.

Columbia Fire was on scene and closed the driving lane starting at hwy 63. Traffic backed up to at least the Lake of the Woods exit at one point.

According to Columbia Fire officials, the driver of the UPS tractor trailer claims to have hit a mattress that was in the road back near the connector, and that is what caught fire. Just the trailer part of the truck caught fire.

The truck had a flammable sign on the side of the tractor. Firefighters on scene checked the inside of the trailer to make sure nothing inside was on fire or smoldering. They did not find anything.

The truck was towed back to UPS to be unloaded and items double checked for any fire for smoke damage.

About an hour after the fire was called in, traffic started easing as both lanes were back open again.