(credit: KTVT/KTXA

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Police in three North Texas cities combined forces to close Interstate-30 in Rowlett, near Lake Ray Hubbard.

A fire on a power pole had authorities concerned.  Some power lines were down and flames partially burned through the pole. Authorities had been worried the pole would fall across both the eastbound and westbound lanes on Interstate-30.

Rockwall police was designated to close the highway on the westbound side of I-30, starting near Horizon. Police in Garland headed the closure of eastbound I-30, near the George Bush Turnpike and Chaha.

“We would recommend that before they take I-30 if they’re somewhere around 635 to maybe move down to 20 and work their way east, because all of our eastbound traffic is gonna be a problem for the next few hours,” Garland police spokesman Officer Mike Hatfield suggested during the closure.

Workers from Oncor quickly arrived on the scene and extinguished the flames. A company spokesperson said the power line was de-energized, allowing workers to put out the fire.

The view from Chopper 11 showed traffic at a standstill for miles in either direction, during the closure that lasted about an hour. Both directions of Interstate-30 were reopened just before 11:30 a.m.

Initially some thought a transformer sparked the flames, but during the course of repairs Oncor workers discovered that the fire was caused by arcing power lines.

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