GRAND JUNCTION — Police this afternoon said they found the remains of a second person in the charred ruins of a tractor-trailer that slammed into the column of a bridge over Interstate 70 early this morning.

Westbound lanes remained closed this afternoon on the interstate, which runs along the north outskirts of Grand Junction.

"One is definitely a female and we don't know yet on the other one," Capt. Harry Long, deputy chief of the Grand Junction Police Department, said of the two victims. "There was incredible heat and intensity."

Fire Battalion Chief John Williams said the truck burst into flames on impact, likely from the more than 300 gallons of diesel fuel in its tanks, along with a mixed load of industrial products.

It appeared the truck drifted to the right as it traveled westbound shortly before 3 a.m. on a long, gradual curve and took out about 75 feet of concrete guardrail before slamming into the bridge support.

The column was broken by the impact, with rebar hanging from the top and poking out of the severed bottom of the support.

The bridge, which carries traffic north and south on 26 1/2 Road, sags about a foot and remains closed.

I-70 was shut down in both directions for about eight hours in an 11-mile stretch between exits 26 and 37. A single eastbound lane reopened about 11 a.m.

Stacey Stegman, a spokeswoman with the Colorado Department of Transportation, said the bridge is supported by six columns — two over the westbound lanes of I-70, two in the middle and two over the eastbound lanes. The truck knocked down one of the columns in the shoulder of the westbound side of I-70, Stegman said.

Truckers were urged to avoid travel in the area and use alternate routes such as Interstate 80 or U.S. 50. Other traffic was detoured through Grand Junction on the I-70 Business Route, CDOT said.

The truck was carrying 55-gallon drums of sodium hypochlorite, a form of bleach, along with commercial cleaning liquids and industrial hardware, police said, but the cargo was not believed to be a danger to the nearby community.

Stegman said highway engineers will inspect the extent of the damage.

Wayne Miller said the sounds of the wreck woke him up.

"I heard a rumbling explosion. I grabbed my glasses and cell phone. I saw a glow," he said, adding that he ran outside. "Things were just exploding."

"I may have heard someone scream...but I question myself because you sometimes hear a whistle just before a tire blows," he said.

He said the fire department was shooting water at the blaze, but "it didn't touch the flame."

His son, Arland Miller, said the area "burned fiercely" for about an hour.

"Early on, I saw some pallets and some chrome wheels. There's nothing left now, though," Arland Miller.

Map of I-70 detour