Fire breaks out at salvage yard along I-70
A fire at an automobile salvage yard just off Interstate 70 kept firefighters in two counties busy and caused traffic issues Tuesday.
Boone County firefighters were called to help with the fire near the Millersburg exit at Carroll Enterprises, an automobile salvage yard.
North Callaway Fire Protection District Chief Lana Karhoff said firefighters were called at 8:30 a.m. after the owner of the salvage yard got in to work and saw the north end of the building was in flames. Karhoff said when her crews got on the scene about a quarter of the building was in flames when they arrived. By about 12:30 p.m., the fire was out.
Access to the fire was limited because of the cars and debris in the area, Karhoff said. Along with the main office building, a single-wide trailer and several cars were burned.
The business is just east of the Boone County line.
The Missouri Department of Transportation warned about smoke from the fire causing travel problems on Interstate 70 between mile markers 136 and 138.
Large plumes of black and gray smoke could be seen Tuesday morning billowing from what appeared to be a large fire.
#I70ALERT: Use caution when traveling in both directions between mile marker 136 and mile marker 138. Smoke from a nearby commercial structure fire could briefly impair driver visibility. pic.twitter.com/t1mp6qSXSC
— MoDOT Central Dist (@MoDOT_Central) January 8, 2019
The North Callaway Fire Protection District remained on the scene until the last hotspot was out.
No one was at the building when the fire started, but investigators are still looking into what caused the fire. Karhoff said the investigation would be limited because of the extent of the damage.
