All travel lanes are clear on I-285 in DeKalb County after an early morning tractor trailer fire shut down the interstate ahead of one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
Though the wreckage of the burned truck was moved to the shoulder, traffic remains slow on the Perimeter’s outer loop near the I-20 interchange, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. Onlookers on the inner loop stacked traffic back to the Glenwood Road exit earlier in the morning, but traffic is flowing now that the fire has been extinguished and the is road clear.
No one was injured in the blaze, DeKalb fire officials said.
The lane closures for the fire began just before 5:30 a.m., the Georgia Department of Transportation reported. The state agency anticipated the closure would remain until about 10 a.m., but traffic cameras still showed the smoking truck blocking multiple lanes at that time.
AJC photographers John Spink and Natrice Miller were at the scene as DeKalb fire crews worked to battle the flames. The fire was brought under control as dawn broke, showing a gray column of smoke rising in front of the I-20 exit signs.
WATCH: HEADS UP - Truck fire slowing NB traffic on I-285 past Columbia in #DeKalb - https://t.co/oCMVuZCPh6 pic.twitter.com/r6m0bM7BbA
— John Spink (@johnjspink) July 1, 2022
DeKalb fire officials said the cause of the incident was undetermined and did not provide further details about the circumstances around the fire. It is not clear what the truck was carrying when the flames began.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
Dekalb Co: A welcome sight here! Cones being picked up on I-285/nb (Outer Loop) approaching I-20 (Exit 46). A tractor trailer fire has had lanes blocked since this morning. #ATLtraffic pic.twitter.com/6OaCklxlU3
— AJC WSB Traffic (@ajcwsbtraffic) July 1, 2022
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
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