Commuters in North Olmsted experienced significant delays on Friday as a garbage truck caught fire on Interstate 480, causing closures and traffic to back up for hours. According to FOX8, the incident occurred near North Olmsted and forced the closure of the two right lanes on I-480 East beyond state Route 252/Great Northern Boulevard into the night.

The situation led to extensive efforts by emergency services to swiftly manage and extinguish the flames. As reported by Cleveland19 News, the North Olmsted Police stated that multiple fire departments responded to the scene where I-480 had to be shut down at Clague Road, with congestion spreading as far back as the county line. Police diverted traffic, allowing cars to re-enter the interstate at Clague Road, Brookpark Road, and the Grayton area.

The fire considerably impacted local traffic, with SkyFOX aerial footage showing the urgent work of firefighters tackling the blaze. The North Olmsted Police Department, in an evening update, confirmed that several agencies worked together to bring the situation under control. The WKYC reported that the eastbound lanes near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport were closed for multiple hours due to the incident.

Relief came later in the evening when traffic was once again able to move slowly following the reopening of the far-left lane just after 7:30 p.m. Eventually, all lanes were declared clear by 10:30 p.m., as per the Ohio Department of Transportation. During the traffic standstill, some drivers found themselves stranded while cleanup crews worked to clear the debris and remnants of the fire. No further details about the cause of the fire were immediately available.