(ABC 6 News) — Emergency evacuations took place in Georgia following a chemical plant fire outside Atlanta that spewed potentially toxic smoke into the air.

It even caused a nearby interstate to shut down in both directions. More than 17,000 people east of Atlanta are still worried about returning to their homes after the fire forced them from their neighborhoods.

The colored clouds of burning chemicals filled the sky in Conyers for most of the day on Sunday, and people miles away could see what looked like skyscrapers of smoke.

The fire initially broke out in the morning inside the BioLab pool chemical plant when water from a sprinkler mixed with a product and caused a chemical reaction.

Firefighters were able to put out those first flames, but the fire later reignited and the building collapsed.

Investigators aren’t sure yet which chemicals burned and released into the air caused the fire to reignite. Authorities say this is the third major incident at the same chemical plant in the last several years.

The last one was in 2020 and forced I-20 to close down for six hours.