A Cortez firefighter sprays the engine of car that erupted into flames while being towed by an RV about noon Tuesday on U.S. Highway 160 near County Road G. The driver said he saw smoke and pulled over to find the car’s engine engulfed in flames, which shot 10 feet high. He unhooked the car and deployed a fire extinguisher. A Cortez public works crew was working where the incident occurred, and employee Bill Hill grabbed a fire extinguisher from a city truck and also sprayed it on the fire. The Cortez Fire Protection District, Cortez Police Department and Colorado Department of Transportation responded to the fire, which was put out within 15 minutes. Traffic was delayed for about a half hour as the southbound lane was temporarily closed. There were no reported injuries, officials said, and the fire’s cause is unknown.
