Eastbound Interstate 70 near De Beque, in Mesa County in western Colorado, will stay closed through the night after a semi truck hauling a large transformer lost its load on Saturday afternoon, November 7, spilling fuel that briefly caught fire, the Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) said. No one was injured and no other vehicles were involved.

Source: JunctionNow (Colorado State Patrol photos and report)

The crash happened at approximately 2:40 p.m. on Saturday near milepost 57, west of De Beque. According to the State Patrol's initial investigation, the semi was travelling eastbound through a curve when the large transformer it was carrying shifted on the trailer. The movement snapped a tie-down chain, and the transformer fell from the truck into the roadway.

Once it hit the road, the transformer began leaking fuel. The fuel briefly caught fire before the flames were extinguished, authorities said. Photographs released by the Colorado State Patrol show the transformer load on its side across the eastbound lanes, with fluid spread over the pavement and a trooper at the scene, the red-rock canyon country of the De Beque area in the background.

Closure stays in place overnight

CDOT closed the eastbound lanes of I-70 between exit 49 at Grand Mesa and exit 62 at De Beque — a stretch of about 13 miles — and said that section will remain closed overnight while hazardous-materials crews clean up the spilled fuel and crews clear the transformer and debris from the roadway. State officials had not announced a reopening time as of Saturday night.

Eastbound travellers are being directed to a detour via Colorado Highway 65 to 45 1/2 Road. Transportation officials urged drivers to allow extra time and to reduce speeds around the closure area, and the State Patrol directed drivers to check COtrip.org, CDOT's live road-conditions service, for the latest closure information before travelling.

Why this stretch matters for truckers

Interstate 70 is the main east–west highway across Colorado and one of the key freight corridors through the Rocky Mountains, carrying long-haul trucks between Denver, Grand Junction and Utah. The De Beque stretch runs through canyon country west of Grand Junction, where grades and curves leave little margin when a heavy load shifts — the exact failure investigators say happened here, when a tie-down chain broke on a curve.

For Punjabi and other long-haul truckers who run I-70 between the Midwest, Denver and the West Coast, an overnight eastbound closure with no announced reopening time means re-routing or waiting: the signed detour is a two-lane state highway route, and officials are asking all drivers, including commercial drivers, to slow down and allow extra time rather than improvise shortcuts around the closure.

The Colorado State Patrol is investigating the incident, including how the load was secured. No charges or citations had been announced as of Saturday night, and no details about the trucking company or the driver have been released.