I-85 fire: Section of Atlanta highway collapses Atlanta (CNN)An elevated section of northbound Interstate 85, a major north-south artery for the Southeast, collapsed Thursday evening in Atlanta after a massive fire, officials said. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said the collapse is not related to terrorism. “We’ve spoken to the special agent in charge of FBI, there is no evidence this is related to terrorism,” he said Thursday night. Reed declined to say what caused the collapse, adding that an investigation is underway. There were no fatalities, he said. “I think it’s as serious a transportation crisis as we could have,” Reed said. The city is looking at traffic plans from the 1996 Olympics to figure out a way forward, Reed said. Lanes closed All five lanes of the highway in each direction were blocked and will be closed for the foreseeable future, officials said. That prospect sent shudders through metro Atlanta commuters, who already contend with heavy traffic. An estimated 250,000 vehicles drive daily through that stretch of I-85, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. Officials scrambled to come up with alternate routes and encouraged riders to use public transit. Cortez Stafford, a spokesman with the Atlanta Fire Department, said a unit was returning from another fire when it saw heavy smoke coming from under I-85. “There was a 40-feet or higher wall of fire. Power lines were falling and arcing heavily and falling in the streets,” Stafford told CNN. The elevated span of highway — a few miles north of downtown — collapsed about 7 p.m. as crews battling the fire got out of danger. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.