Burning vehicle blocks highway near Columbia, SC officials say

A vehicle fire completely blocked one side of a highway heading toward Columbia, causing delays for drivers Sunday morning, according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

All of the westbound lanes on Interstate 26 were temporarily closed because of the fire at the 137 mile marker, SCDOT said. That’s in the St. Matthews area of Calhoun County, not far from the line with Lexington County.

Additionally, one of the eastbound lanes heading toward Charleston, was also closed because of the fire, according to SCDOT.

A car hauler was involved in a single-vehicle crash, then went up in flames, Master Trooper William Bennett said on social media. Bennett shared a photo of the fire that showed vehicles on the car hauler also were on fire in the middle of I-26.

Information about any injuries was not available. There was no word about what caused the vehicle to crash.

The fiery crash caused a traffic jam as vehicles were backed up for miles, traffic cameras showed.

A detour was set up at Exit 139, to reroute drivers off I-26 and away from the fire. Long stretches of I-26 were empty following the detour, traffic cameras showed.

Information about how long the detour will be in place, and when all the lanes on both sides of I-26 will be reopened and cleared was not available.

Drivers are asked to avoid the area, if possible. Otherwise, drivers should expect delays.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published August 31, 2025 at 9:19 AM with the headline "Burning vehicle blocks highway near Columbia, SC officials say."

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription