Several woods fires burned in Jackson County. One sent ashes across I-10.

A fire north of Interstate 10 was sent ashes raining across I-10 east of Exit 50 to Ocean Springs on Tuesday as several woods fires burned around the county.

Sheriff Mike Ezell said firefighters and deputies were at several locations, including Vancleave, to deal with fires in wooded areas.

The one just north of I-10 was spreading to the west about 100 yards every 15 minutes and blackening treetops, said Justin McKinley, who works across the highway.

It appears that fire started by someone who was burning a small area of grass when the wind got ahead of them, Ezell said.

Firefighters approached the fire from Cook Road. Another crew went in from the north side of I-10.

The blaze was out before 3:30 p.m., Ezell said.

The fire at Exit 50 to Mississippi 609 South will affect traffic in both directions until at least 4:40 p.m., the Mississippi Department of Transportation said in a tweet.

A prescribed burn apparently had been scheduled in the Franklin Creek area as well, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the burn had been called off.

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 3:03 PM with the headline "Several woods fires burned in Jackson County. One sent ashes across I-10.."