Just out to the main road from the cemetary and the smoldering hill side is the other half of the closed section of route 61.  If you park your vehicle and walk about 5 minutes up around the bend of 61 you will see why this section of 61 has been closed down.

Due to the intense heat and caved in ground this section of the 4 lane highway has warped, buckle and opened up making it unusable and unfixable.

Venting vapors this 1 - 2 foot wide crack in 61 is quite interesting.  It gives one some sort of ere insight into what is going on beneath your feet.  In spots the heat makes the surounding rocks too hot to touch.

In length the cracks in route 61 stretches for 100 to 150 feet with the biggest opening up to about 2 feet across.