ATLANTA — A fire was reported under an I-85 bridge Friday afternoon, not far from the fire in 2017 that brought down a huge chunk of the highway.
Capt. Al Adkins with the Atlanta Fire Department said the small fire under the bridge appeared to be from a homeless encampment, however, he said they are still investigating.
Adkins said the fuel load was the difference between this fire and the one in 2017 that shut down the highway in both directions for nearly two months.
Investigators determined that the 2017 fire was caused by a homeless man who lit the fire. According to Atlanta Police, Basil Eleby had been smoking crack before he set fire to a “chair set on top of a shopping cart.” The fire quickly spread to combustibles nearby and caught fire on the bridge.
Today, firefighters had trouble accessing the fire to put it out. They were parked at the Goodwill store off Piedmont Road and had to hand drag the hoses.
Adkins said once they gained access to the fire, they had it out within a minute or two. There were no injuries.
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