A MOBILE crane fire caused the closure of the A17 at Sutton Bridge on Wednesday.
Norfolk and Lincolnshire firefighters were called to Centenary Way, which is near the village’s power station, at 3.30pm.
Police closed the A17 in both directions amid fears a fuel tank could explode.
Villager Jenny Rowe called 999 after spotting smoke from the crane and a quick-thinking tractor driver blocked off traffic.
Mrs Rowe said: “It is a nasty fire and it is amazing how the flames leaped so high.
“A piece of the crane blew into the field opposite.
“No-one was hurt as the driver saw smoke as he pulled out of King John Bank.
“The crane is still burning and there is a lot of black smoke.”
Traffic in the area is very heavy.
Parish council chairman John and his wife Doreen Grimwood say there were heavy queues of traffic in Bridge Road, Sutton Bridge, as drivers queued along the “old A17”, but they cleared at about 5.45pm.
Mrs Grimwood said smoke was visible from the Wisbech Road at Long Sutton.
Police were diverting the main A17 traffic at the McDonald’s roundabout, Long Sutton, via Wisbech but access was still possible as far as Sutton Bridge on the back roads.