An arson investigation is underway after firefighters from several agencies battled multiple brush fires along Interstate 540 on Saturday.
Crews were called around 2:45 p.m. to reports of multiple fires along I-540 West in Wake County. Fires were reported at several locations, including near Glenwood Avenue, Leesville Road, Creedmoor Road, Falls of Neuse Road and Capital Boulevard.
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“It’s like you drive a little bit, there’s another fire. You drive, we’re definitely on someone else’s property, oh, another fire,” said Taylor Soddy, a witness to the scene. “It was like eight fires roughly.”
Initially, Soddy said he thought someone was burning grass.
“I didn’t know why or what, but it didn’t look controlled,” he continued. “There was no one near it, and they were so spread out that it didn’t feel random.”
Soddy said, at the last fire, he saw a white Tesla pulled over and a man stomping at the flames.
As of Wednesday, the Wake County Sheriff's Office is asking the public to reach out to their office if they've seen the drivers or any suspicious activity on I-540 at the time.
Multiple units responded to the scene.
WRAL's Breaking News Tracker was on the scene and saw firefighters spraying the smoldering ground and trees in an area near Leesville Road.
The city of Raleigh posted on Facebook that all lanes of I-540 at Capital Boulevard were closed as crews worked to extinguish the fire. The lanes have since reopened.
Two lanes of I-540 near Triangle Town Boulevard were also temporarily closed while crews worked on putting out the blaze.
The closures backed up traffic for miles.
“It normally takes me about 30 minutes for me to get from my house to the airport. It took us an hour and 15 minutes," said Lyla Woodward, who told WRAL News she was gridlocked as she watched from her car.
Woodward said she saw at least six areas where fire crews and law enforcement were gathered around the scorched ground and tree line.
She was not surprised to learn the fires are being investigated as arson.
“That's really sad and unfortunate that someone would, you know, do something like that, possibly, and put so many people and things in danger for who knows what reason," she continued.
Officials with the Wake County Sheriff's Office said the investigation is still ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's office.