Lorry fire kept M1 closed in Hertfordshire for more than 13 hours

A section of the southbound M1 carriageway in Hertfordshire stayed closed until nearly 4am after the fire initially broke out at around 2.30pm on Wednesday (August 24).

Both the cab and trailer were destroyed, with the fire service sending six crews to the scene and both firefighters and the police urging motorists to avoid the area.

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The lorry fire. Image: Twitter/DnB_n_WatfordFC

Firefighters put the flames out later in the afternoon and the vehicle, which was parked on the hard shoulder between junctions 7 and 6A near St Albans, was recovered in the evening.

But the motorway had to stay closed for so long because the lorry spilled oil right across the carriageway, which meant the road had to be resurfaced.

The oil spillage on the M1. Image: National Highways

A spokesman for National Highways, which manages the country’s motorways, said: “An incident was reported to us at 2.30pm on Wednesday involving a HGV which had caught fire and was on the hard shoulder of the southbound side of the M1 between junctions 7 and 6A.

“As a result of the fire the HGV’s fuel tank ruptured spilling diesel across all four lanes. The fuel in lanes one and two then became ignited by the fire.

"Part of the cargo being carried by the HGV included a large amount of bananas which kept reigniting and had to be unloaded, separated and dampened before being loaded onto a second vehicle to be removed from the scene. These elements made the recovery and subsequent clean up and resurfacing of all four southbound lanes more challenging than usual."

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The lorry after most of the fire had been extinguished. Image: National Highways

They added: “We apologise for this section of the road being closed for around 12 hours, but these were difficult circumstances that required a significant amount of work to be carried out before the carriageway could be safely reopened.  

“We are pleased that no one was significantly injured in the incident and appreciate the patience shown by those affected by the closure.”

Just made it past this lorry fire on M1 at 2.30, on way back at 9.30 they were just recovering what was left of it and road still closed with a team of workers about to start repairs pic.twitter.com/LKdP3Bgqp9

— Willie Stewart (@itsbigwullie) August 24, 2022

The closure caused significant disruption for drivers, which lasted well into the night.

There were delays of more than 90 minutes southbound on the M1 from junction 9 at Redbourn, with all traffic being diverted off the M1 and onto the A414 towards the Park Street roundabout. Some drivers were trapped within the closure.

There were also queues northbound on the M1 past the scene of the fire and the A405 and M25 was also affected.

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