Encampment fire that spread to brush jams traffic on eastbound I-90 in Seattle

SEATTLE — Smoke from an encampment fire and the response from firefighters brought traffic to a crawl on eastbound Interstate 90 in Seattle Monday morning.

The fire began burning in a nearby wooded area at about 6:30 a.m. The Seattle Fire Department said a structure at a homeless camp caught fire and the flames spread to nearby brush and turned into a larger fire.

There were three people reported to have been living in the structure.

Video from a Washington State Department of Transportation camera on I-90 at Eighth Avenue South showed heavy smoke in the air and multiple fire vehicles on I-90.

For two hours, traffic from on-ramps from northbound I-5 and Edgar Martinez Drive was alternating onto I-90.

As of 10:12 a.m., traffic from both ramps was slowly merging, but at least one fire truck was still blocking the right lane near one onramp.

Seattle fire said firefighters were still working to put out hot spots.

At 10:40 a.m., the scene had finally cleared and traffic was moving again.

Watch video from a WSDOT camera below to see the traffic and smoke from the fire:

RAW: Encampment fire jams traffic on eastbound I-90 in Seattle

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