Several brush fires were reported throughout the Bay area Tuesday, including one that closed a section of I-75 for several hours Tuesday.

All lanes of I-75 near the Hillsborough-Manatee county line in Sun City Center were reopened by about 9:15 p.m. after closing due to smoke from an earlier brush fire.

The brush fire destroyed about 50 acres in the area of U.S. 41 S and Valroy Road. Multiple units from Hillsborough and Manatee county responded to the scene and spent nearly two hours getting the fire under control. No one was injured.

The fires and the poor visibility led to commuter chaos Tuesday afternoon.

As flames made their way all the way to the side of the Interstate and then jumped into the median, the Florida Highway Patrol was called to the scene. Troopers said they didn’t want to take any chances.

"Everything we do is about public safety," said FHP Trooper Kenny Watson.

Troopers said the visibility was so poor they had to eventually shut down the interstate in both directions.

"We certainly want to prevent any collisions and secondary collisions that can occur in that smoky, low-visibility environment," said Watson.

It was a very similar environment on another Interstate, I-4 in Winter Haven, more than six years ago.

A deadly mix of smoke and fog led to chain reaction crashes of 70 vehicles that left several dead and dozens injured. FHP shut the road down for days.

Investigators later said it wasn’t just the fog and smoke but careless drivers who were also to blame.

"When you travel at 70 miles an hour and you look down, you're going to travel the distance of a football field within three seconds,” said Watson. “We simply cannot have that.

Troopers will continue to monitor the area throughout the night.

Crews battle brush fire in Palm Harbor

Firefighters say a brush fire on the 5000 block of Stag Thicket Lane in Palm Harbor is mostly contained.

The fire was between 6 and 12 acres near the Hawks Landing subdivision. No evacuations were ordered.

Crews say the fire was the same one from earlier that reignited. The cause was most likely lightning from storms overnight.

Lightning strike blamed for Hernando brush fire

Earlier on Tuesday, the Florida Forest Service was working to contain a brush fire in the Bay Port area of Hernando County.

According to FFS spokesperson Judy Tear, the "fish camp" fire was started by a lightning strike during the strong storms that passed through the area Monday night.

As of 1 p.m., officials said the brush fire was about 50 percent contained.