Six fire departments battled a large fire at a car dealership on U.S. 35 Wednesday morning that forced a portion of the highway to close.
The fire was reported at about 4:10 a.m. at West Alexandria Auto Sales, 2647 U.S. 35, several miles west of West Alexandria.
Investigators remained on scene well into the morning trying to determine what caused the fire in the building which was empty overnight.
U.S. 35 was closed for hours between Washington-Twin Road and Woodside Drive.
West Alexandria Fire Chief Jeff Shaffer said an investigator from the state fire marshal's office was called, but an exact cause has not been determined.
There were reports of explosions during the fire, which may have occurred from a propane tank near the business, authorities said.
No injuries were reported during the fire, officials said. Extra fire units were called to help with shuttling water to the scene.
"The building's a total loss and obviously there's some vehicles in the front of the structure that obtained significant damage," Shaffer said.
