00:00 busy I-85 freeway in Northeast Atlanta caught fire and a smoke billowed out
00:03 from it on all sides, people watched helplessly as it later collapsed. While
00:08 officials are still not certain of what started the fire, State Department of
00:12 Transportation Chief Russell McMurray said that the fire began in an area
00:15 where the state stores construction materials. And Russell might be right
00:19 because already people are posting a Google view of the underpass which shows
00:23 stuff stored underneath that could have possibly caught fire. And people don't
00:27 always do the smartest things because as you can see from the video motorists are
00:30 just trying to drive through on the interstate while there's still fire and
00:34 smoke and the firemen are trying to put it out and everything. CNN's Elliot C.
00:38 McLaughlin was on the scene and posted a video of people being people with this
00:41 comment. "Pulled up to fire on Interstate 85 minutes before highway collapsed. Smoke
00:46 was opaque. Had to follow a Tahoe's taillights through it." That's also one of
00:50 my other nightmares being on a bridge or going in a tunnel. Like these things have
00:56 been around for a while and something's gonna happen at a certain point. Like
01:00 that's my worst nightmare. Cortez Stafford, a spokesman for the Atlanta
01:03 Fire Department, told CNN, "There was a 40 feet or higher wall fire. Power lines
01:07 were falling and arcing heavily and falling in the streets. When concrete
01:11 started falling away from the bridge, firemen were asked to step back and for
01:14 good reason because shortly after the interstate collapsed with a huge boom
01:18 and the force was so powerful it knocked many backwards." And even with all of that,
01:23 incredibly, only one person was injured. And with spring break and summer
01:27 traveling ahead and 220,000 cars that drive through I-85 every single day,
01:33 people are scrambling to find new routes and it's gonna take months to fix. I mean
01:37 for all the Angelinas out there, imagine if the 405 went down.
01:43 I'll say I'm gonna take a Canterview driver to San Vicente and then make a left and
01:48 come 405 north from there. Just get off of Mall Holland. Totally like that. And thanks to
01:54 social media, anything crazy happening, basically everyone in that vicinity
01:57 becomes a reporter. Case in point, check out the trending hashtag #Atlantafire.
02:02 Jenoazen posted this to Instagram, "When you're just trying to get home and
02:05 Atlanta is on fire again." ATL Greek Picnic 1 posted, "There's a massive fire
02:09 currently on I-85 near GA 400." TheWillToTrain.org commented, "Damn I can
02:15 feel the heat through my phone." And this person comments, "I'm just glad no one
02:18 died or got injured. This could have been a tragedy." So what would you do if you
02:22 were on an injured state and this went down? Let us know in the comments below.
02:24 For more stories go to whatstrending.com and stay safe out there.
