Brush fire causes major backups on I-5 during afternoon commute
Oct 1, 2012, 4:14 PM | Updated: 8:40 pm
Despite lanes reopening as the smoke cleared, the back up at times reached 14 miles. (WSDOT Photo)
(WSDOT Photo)
A brush fire near the interstate that popped up shortly before the start of the afternoon commute caused headaches for northbound motorists.
The fire broke out around 3:30 p.m. near 148th Street SW in Lynnwood. Crews closed the freeway down in the northbound direction while they got the blaze and smoke under control.
>>>See photos of the brush fire
Commuters redirected to highways 525 and 99, both of which grew increasingly slow as the heavy traffic crawled north.
As lanes began to reopen on I-5 around 5 p.m. the backup had reached 10 miles. All lanes were reopened by 5:30 p.m., but the backup had already reached 14 miles, past Northgate and into Seattle’s University District.
The Washington State Department of Transportation said they expected it to take some time for the back up to dissipate. Around 5:40 p.m. KIRO Radio traffic reporter Kimi Kline said the travel time between Seattle and Everett was one hour and 40 minutes.
>>Check traffic conditions before hitting the road
