ST. GEORGE — Traffic on northbound Interstate 15 through St. George was impacted by a vehicle fire that occurred Friday afternoon just north of St. George Boulevard.

Around 4:40 p.m., a Hyundai Elantra hatchback that was traveling northbound on I-15 began to have engine issues and smoke started to emerge from under the hood, the driver told first responders, St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker said.

The driver was able to pull the car over to the side of the roadway and remove most of her belongings from the car by the time firefighters arrived at the scene, Stoker said.

By then, the engine compartment was on fire and about to work its way into the rest of the car before being knocked down by firefighters.

As the firefighters worked, the lane on the eastern side of northbound I-15 around the incident was closed off by Utah Highway Patrol troopers while the remaining two lanes remained open to traffic. This caused traffic passing through to slow and become congested at times, but never fully stop.

Traffic on I-15 and in the surrounding area was particularly heavy late Friday afternoon, and possibly related to the Veterans Day holiday.

So far, the cause of the fire is unknown, though some sort of mechanical failure is suspected, Stoker said, adding none of the car’s occupants were harmed during the incident.

The charred Hyundai was towed away and the area was cleared by 6 p.m.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.