Traffic Tangles Ensue After Fire at Vacant Lee Highway Building

Update: The house was a total loss, the Fire and Rescue Department announced Wednesday. 

Original post

A fire at a vacant building off Lee Highway in Centreville lasted for several hours Tuesday evening and temporarily led to some traffic tangles for commuters and others on the road. 

The building, located at 14927 Lee Highway near White Post Road, was a vacant home that was in the midst of renovations by a local church. Fairfax County firefighters tentatively estimated damages at $20,000. 

The fire started around 6:40 p.m. As of 8 p.m., firefighters had put out most of the fire, but were expected to remain working for another hour or two. The fire apparently started in the middle of the structure, and firefighters knocked it down with a stream from the ladder, said Battalion Chief Thomas Graling.

Graling said the cause of the fire was still under investigation. Firefighters from West Centreville, Centreville, Chantilly, Fair Oaks and Fair View responded to the incident.  

Lee Highway was temporarily closed in both directions near Rydell Road. A large number of drivers on Stone Road, which was also backed up significantly, attempted to bypass the traffic by cutting through the London Towne subdivision.