‘Raging’ car fire on Interstate 95 temporarily causes significant delays

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A vehicle fire on Interstate 95 left commuters stranded in miles’ worth of traffic delays on Monday in Maryland.

The fire was reported on the northbound lanes of I-95 near MD-198

It’s unclear what prompted the fire, or if any injuries were sustained from the incident.

“You can see the smoke in Laurel. A car fire raging,” WTOP traffic reporter Dave Dildine said of the incident. “This thing is burning to the ground. Tires exploding — a running fuel fire.”

WTOP’s Brian Albin added that the blaze prompted a traffic backup that stretched for a little over two miles as the interstate’s three left lanes were closed to commuters.

Officials were able to extinguish the fire just after 7:30 p.m. “If it was a pizza, it would be described as charred right now,” Albin said of the car.

While all northbound lanes have reopened, some delays are anticipated as normal traffic flows resume.

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Gaby Arancibia

Gaby comes to WTOP from Sputnik News where she spent the last eight years working her way up from social media manager to writer, and then senior editor.

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