Update: Interstate 20 westbound from Sigman Road to Turner Hill was reopened shortly before 11 p.m.

Rockdale County Fire and Rescue crews encountered brush fires in several locations along I-20 and Ga. Highway 138 starting around 5 p.m., according to RCFD Deputy Chief Mike Lee.

The Georgia Forestry department created a fire break around hot spots using a tractor to dig a path of fresh dirt to prevent their spread, before going back in with bulldozers and covering the burn spots with dirt.

Georgia Forestry Chief Ranger Mike Sapp, whose office oversees Rockdale, DeKalb, Newton and Henry counties, said with the dead brush on the ground in winter time, it didn't take much to start brush fires, including cigarette butts, sparks, or hot items that might have fallen off vehicles along the interstate.

He said just about every Ga. forestry office from here to the Alabama state line had dealt with some kind of fire on Thursday, whether it was a brush fire or controlled burn that went out of control.

While parts of I-20 were shut down, traffic was backed up on the access roads, Old Covington Highway, and surrounding roads for miles along the interstate.

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(Feb. 17, 6:07 p.m.) Interstate 20 has been shut down in the westbound direction from Sigman Rd. to Panola Rd. in Rockdale County. Fire crews are on the scene and are diverting traffic off I-20 at Sigman Rd. The eastbound traffic remains unaffected.

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Multiple brushfires were reported along Interstate 20 westbound around 5 p.m. Thursday. The fires caused major traffic delays in DeKalb and Rockdale Counties.