UPDATE, 5:00 p.m. -- Transportation crews have reopened all lanes of I-5 after a brush fire broke out next to the freeway near SeaTac.

The ramps at South 200th Street are still closed, but the flames have been put out, according to the Department of Transportation.

The transportation department closed up to two lanes of the freeway while SeaTac fire crews battled the blaze.

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Southbound traffic on Interstate 5 near SeaTac is backed up to Tukwila as emergency crews fight a brush fire on the side of the road.

Two lanes are closed, and Travis Phelps, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, says motorists should take alternate routes until the fire is out.

"This thing is kicking up a lot of smoke," Phelps said. "This backup might take a while to clear."

The fire stretches from South 188th Street to South 200th Street, said Virgina Mercado of the SeaTac Fire Department. Firefighters were also blocking Military Road to protect apartments on the corner of South 200th Street.

"It's terrible," said Mercado. "They don't even have visibility."

By Seattle Times staff