By Associated Press - Tuesday, January 14, 2014

HAMPTON, Neb. (AP) - The westbound lanes of Interstate 80 were closed east of Grand Island after a large grass fire caused smoke to billow over the freeway.

The Lincoln Journal Star reports (https://bit.ly/1d2a81v ) the westbound lanes of I-80 were closed for about an hour Tuesday afternoon while firefighters struggled to extinguish a grass fire that started near Hampton, about 30 miles east of Grand Island.

State patrol Lt. Bill Keeling says smoke from the fire obscured visibility in the interstate’s westbound lanes. He didn’t know what caused the fire.

The fire was reported about 2:40 p.m. and was brought under control about an hour later.

Motorist Daryl Blue, of Lincoln, was driving along the freeway when smoke became so thick, traffic nearly stopped.

Blue says he’s “never been so scared in my life.”

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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com

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