Vehicle fire leads to shutdown of U.S. 70 in Las Cruces area for hours

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- A vehicle fire led to the closure of U.S. 70 in the Las Cruces area on Sunday evening for several hours, state transportation officials said.

The fire resulted in the shutdown of both eastbound and westbound lanes of the highway at milepost 168.

The fire and closure were reported by the New Mexico Department of Transportation around 6:30 p.m., as the agency advised motorists to use an alternate route to avoid traffic delays.

NMDOT said U.S. 70 had completely reopened to traffic by about 10 p.m.

No further details were immediately available about the vehicle fire; it was unknown whether there were any injuries.

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