ZELIENOPLE, Pa.,None — Traffic on Interstate 79 north of Pittsburgh is now moving smoothly after a tanker truck fire near Lancaster Township snarled traffic Tuesday morning.
VIDEO: I-79 Reopens After Tanker Fire Near Zelienople RAW VIDEO: Crews Extinguish Flames PHOTOS: Aftermath Of Tanker Blaze
State police said the truck's trailer and its gas tank caught fire while heading north shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Authorities said the driver of the truck jumped out immediately after seeing the fire and called 911. He was not injured.
Crews worked for about an hour to put out the flames and to ensure that 4,000 gallons of gasoline being carried in the tanker didn't catch fire.
Authorities shut down I-79 near Zelienople, causing traffic to back up to Evans City.
Channel 11 News crews spotted some drivers going in reverse on the side of the highway to avoid traffic. Others who made it to Zelienople had to uses Route 68 and Route 19 to travel through Zelienople and Harmony to get back on I-79 in Portersville.
"I do in-home service, and I haven't been able to get to my stops," Jerry Harvey of Butler County.
"It doesn't matter which way you go, you end up going back the same way," said driver Maria Behrens of New York.
State police are working to tow the charred truck, so they can reopen the interstate.
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