Three arrested in massive Atlanta I-85 blaze

ATLANTA —Three people were arrested Friday in the Thursday night blaze on Interstate Highway 85 in Atlanta that locked up traffic for hours and has closed a heavily-traveled section of I-85 for months.

CNN reported Friday night that officials said two men and one woman had been arrested in connection with the fire, which reached 40 feet in height and resulted in a section of I-85 collapsing.

The three are thought to be homeless, Georgia Deputy Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Jay Florence said in a CNN report.

Florence identified one suspect as Basil Eleby, who was arrested on suspicion of first-degree criminal damage to property. Investigators think he started the fire intentionally, Florence said. Eleby was in jail Friday after being taken into custody. If convicted, he faces one to 10 years in prison, CNN reported.

Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas face criminal trespassing charges, Florence said.

Earlier in the day, Gov. Nathan Deal, after declaring a state of emergency Thursday night, asked for patience as Georgia authorities work toward reopening the portion of I-85 that was damaged by the fire, which had a mysterious origin.

Officials said Friday that three segments each of the superhighway for northbound and southbound traffic — including the collapsed section — would have to be replaced, a process that will take an undetermined number of months. The fire broke out around 6 p.m. Thursday, and the section collapsed an hour later.

Deal said Friday that the “blessing” that came from the disaster that hit during a heavy travel time in the early evening was that no one was killed. Estimates for daily traffic in the area have been reported at 220,000-250,000 vehicles.

Georgia Department of Transportation officials said Friday that the federal DOT had approved $10 million to remove and replace the damaged roadway. About 700 feet of roadway – 350 feet for northbound traffic and 350 feet for southbound — will be removed and replaced, including support columns, officials said.

Demolition is set to begin this weekend and will continue into Monday.

“As we continue to assess the damage and begin repairs, I ask for the public’s patience and understanding,” Deal said Friday. “The fact that no lives were lost is a blessing, and I’m grateful for the courage, hard work and tireless efforts by our state and local first responders.

“I’m also thankful for the timely response from the federal government. Their expedited assistance will allow GDOT, city officials and private contractors to begin work immediately. The state of Georgia, city of Atlanta and federal government are committed to an expedited and safe resolution of this disaster.”

Expediting the work, however, does not mean that traffic will resume normal patterns anytime soon.

“Despite our coordinated efforts, this will be a long process,” the governor said. “This is due, in part, to the fact that bridge beams must be cast, poured, tested, transported and individually installed.

“During this time, public safety is our chief priority and primary concern. With your help, we will be better able to ensure the safety of motorists, travelers, first responders and construction crews.”

Sgt. Cortez Stafford, a spokesman for the Atlanta Fire Department, told CNN that quick action by firefighters who initially arrived at the location played a big role in avoiding the fatalities.

Stafford said firefighters stopped car traffic on I-85 almost as soon as they arrived on the scene, sensing collapse of the roadway could be imminent. They could feel the amount of heat building up beneath the bridge, he told CNN.

“I believe that saved a lot of lives,” Stafford said. “People were driving by, not paying attention, taking pictures with camera phones.”

Firefighters also cleared away pedestrians beneath and near the bridge.

“You could almost tell what was about to happen,” Stafford told CNN, adding that soon after firefighters arrived, the section of the roadway began to break apart.

“There were large chunks of concrete starting to come down,” Stafford said. “I mean 200- to 300-pound chunks of concrete. We could see it dropping near our guys.”

At that point, he said, a fire department incident commander “made the call to back everyone up.”

“Within two to three minutes, a 100-foot section — 100 feet long, maybe 50 to 75 feet wide — came crashing down,” he said.

The flames ignited in a fenced-in area where the state stores construction materials and supplies near the overpass, according to Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry.

Deal said Thursday that he had heard speculation it was caused by some “PVC products that caught fire.” McMurry initially said the materials stored under the highway were PVC pipes, but later said they were HDPE — high-density polyethylene — pipes. He said the conduits are used in the “traffic management, cabling, fiber-optic and wire network.”

The material had been stored there “for some time, probably since 2006 or ‘7,” McMurry said. “We’re as eager to learn the cause of this fire as anyone.”

CNN contributed to this report.