Update: International Drive in Tysons Corner Now Totally Open

Update 1:10pm. Northbound lanes of International Drive jus reopened. Southbound lanes still closed.

Dominion Power crews are gingerly lifting the crossbar from the fires.  Also they've started to dig the hole needed for the new utility pole. New pole is on site.

You are still smell fire at the scene.

Update 12:05pm: A segment of International Drive near the intersection with Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) will be closed perhaps at late as 4 pm as Dominion Power crews replace a utility pole with cross bars that were damaged this morning when an insulator shorted out, according to the Fairfax County Fire Department.

International Drive is a major afternoon commuter route serving Tysons Corner, one of the largest office  centers on the East Coast.

Police and firemen have closed off a short segment adjacent to the Mall  from Route 123  to the Mall entrance on International Drive.  Traffic is flowing smoothly around the closed section. You cannot turn left or right  from Route 123 onto International Drive heading south.

Tysons Mall and the gas stations along Route 123 have power, said Fire Lt. Dennis Webb. Crate and Barrell and Cafe DeLuxe are without power he said.

The incident started this morning about 7:45 am when there was a malfunction in the wiring system that started a fire on a crossbar pole. The fire caused the crossbar to fall off and onto the wires below, Lt. Webb said.  That means additional stress on wires that cross International Drive. No one is walking under those wires.

Update 9:30 a.m.: International Drive will be shut down for at least four more hours while wires are repaired and power is restored following an electrical fire this morning.

Fairfax County Police first responded to the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and International Drive around 7:51 a.m. this morning. Chain Bridge Road is now open and passable, according to Police, but the affected portion of International Drive remains shut down.

Police continue to direct traffic through the area.

--

Electrical Fire At International Drive, Outages Along Maple Ave Cause Commuter Headaches

Fairfax County Police are asking motorists to avoid the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and International Drive in Tysons Corner, after wires fell and an electrical fire began there this morning.

FCPD is directing traffic through the intersection.

Several traffic lights in Vienna are also without power this morning. It's not clear whether those outages were caused by the Tysons electrical fire, Vienna Police Officer Bill Murray said.

The lights at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Follin Lane and Beulah and East Streets, along with a few others on the eastern side of town, were being run by generators and/or had police directing traffic, Murray said.

Patch will have more updates to this story as it develops.

Were you stuck in traffic related to the electrical fire?