Vehicle fire inside covered section of I

DENVER — A vehicle fire inside the covered section of the Central 70 project in Denver Saturday forced the closure of westbound Interstate 70.

All lanes were reponed to traffic about a half-hour after the fire, which was first reported at 3:25 p.m. The closure caused traffic to back up in the area.

There were no reports of injuries and there was no damage done to the structure.

The 1,000-foot covered structure was completed last year and is part of the Central 70 project.

The tunnel is equipped with fans to pump out the exhaust and a sprinkler system to mitigate fires. And CDOT spokesperson Stacia Sellers said the system "worked as intended."

"At 15:21 flames became visible from the car. 15:22 Fire Detection Activated and Jet Fans kicked in. At 15:23 the deluge system for zone 7 was activated and Denver Fire Department notified. 15:25 deluge was at full open position and suppressed the fire," Sellers wrote in an email to Denver7.