Vehicle fire on I-405 in Kirkland cleared after backing up traffic for nearly 5 miles

Emergency crews cleared a vehicle fire on Interstate 405 South (I-405) near NE 85th Street in Kirkland Friday. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) previously stated drivers should expect delays as traffic clears.

According to the Travel Times page on the WSDOT website, as of 6:30 p.m. Friday, it was going to take 43 minutes to get from Everett to Seattle. The ride took more than hour Friday afternoon.

As of 6:30 p.m. Friday, the drive from Everett to Bellevue was going to take 28 minutes. Earlier Friday afternoon, it would have taken closer to an hour and 30 minutes to make the same trip.

The state agency wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier Friday afternoon traffic had backed up on I-405 about five miles.

WSDOT first posted about the disabled vehicle at 10 a.m., explaining that it was blocking the right lane.

The agency then posted a video on X showing the significant backups that resulted due to the incident and saying two lanes were blocked.

Later, WSDOT acknowledged the vehicle fire and reported three general-purpose lanes were blocked on the highway and that also included the on-ramp at NE 85th Street.

Late Friday morning, the agency posted several photos from the scene on X, including smoke rising from the disabled vehicles and firefighters putting out the fire.

UPDATE 3: Here’s some visuals on the vehicle fire blocking the three general-purpose lanes on SB I-405 just south NE 85th St in #Kirkland. The on-ramp at NE 85th St is also blocked.

The backup is four miles. If possible, consider seeking alternate routes. https://t.co/jjYOGzUYYp pic.twitter.com/Yq1u8gN8zz

— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) August 25, 2023