ADAIR, Iowa (AP) – Iowa authorities said a grass fire shut down about a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 80 near Adair.

Close-up pics courtesy Mike Kennon/Cass Co. Emergency Management Agency.

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s road conditions map show that I-80 is closed in both directions between exit 57, east of Walnut, and exit 70, just west of Adair. A detour has been set up.  (As of 11:35, one-lane of I-80 eastbound was re-opened).

Looking west along I-80 eastbound. Ric Hanson/KJAN photo

I-80 looking eastbound from 710th St. in Cass Co.

Authorities were cleaning up a crash near the grass fire. Iowa Department of Public Safety spokesman Sgt. Scott Bright says there were no serious injuries in the crash, and that officials do not believe the crash and fire are related.

Bright says officials shut down the stretch of I-80 for fear that smoke from the fire could cut visibility and cause collisions.

Traffic was at a standstill for miles this (Saturday) morning on Interstate 80 between mile markers 60 and 70, both east and westbound, due to a multiple vehicle accident at around 10:15-a.m. on I-80 eastbound at the 67-mile marker. Numerous fire and rescue personnel and law enforcement officers were on the scene directing traffic. A large grass fire near the accident scene was put out by around 11:15-a.m. At least one lane of eastbound I-80 was reopened as of 11:35-a.m.

There’s been no word on any injuries.

Looking onto I-80 from the 710th Street Bridge in Cass County, between Anita and Wiota. Ric Hanson photos.

UPDATE 11:15am: Interstate 80 is shut down between the 60 and 70 mile markers due to a multi-vehicle accident and fire in the area.  Please use caution and try to avoid the area.

Several vehicles are reported to have been involved in a crash on Interstate 80 in Cass County Saturday morning. According to dispatch reports, at least 10 vehicles crashed near the 67-miler marker eastbound, between the Wiota and Anita exits. A large fire was also reported between the 62 and 67 mile markers causing traffic to stop on the interstate.

Numerous ambulances have been called to the scene. The number of injuries are unknown. Westbound traffic was in the process of being rerouted at the 70-mile marker and is backed up at least a couple of miles.

The accident was reported at around 10:15-a.m.

No other details are available.

An Avoca man was sentenced Friday, April 11, 2014 is US District Court for failing to register as a sex offender. 29-year-old Sergio Maldonado-Butler of Avoca was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose to 12 months and 1 day imprisonment for failing to register with the sex offender registry. Judge Rose also ordered Maldonado-Butler to serve a five-year term of supervised release following incarceration.

In August of 2013, law enforcement was called to a disturbance involving Maldonado-Butler, and during the investigation determined that Maldonado-Butler was required to register as a sexual offender based on a 2005 conviction for rape in the State of Oregon. On December 5, 2014, Maldonado-Butler entered a guilty plea to failing to register with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office as required when he began residing in Avoca. Maldonado-Butler had resided in Avoca, Iowa for approximately six months without registering.

The investigation was conducted by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshal’s Service, and the case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.