Fire shuts down MCG Highway

Commuters back to Maricopa from Casa Grande this afternoon had to take a longer route home.

A roadside fire shut down the highway at Bianco Road heading toward Maricopa around 3 p.m. today. Officers at the scene, who are sending all incoming cars back toward Casa Grande, first said the closure would last well past rush hour.

“They said it would be a few hours,” Casa Grande Police Officer Jeremy Ybarra told reporters at the scene around 3:45 p.m.

At the time this story was published, officers said reopening the highway was imminent and estimated they would stop turning away cars shortly after 4 p.m.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.