Brush Fire Halts Traffic on Freeway

A one-acre brush fire Saturday afternoon forced the California Highway Patrol to shut down several lanes of northbound traffic on the Golden State Freeway for more than two hours, causing a backup.

After the fire broke out about 1:40 p.m. officers stopped traffic on all the northbound lanes near the transition to the Antelope Valley Freeway for one hour, said CHP Officer Frank Sansone.

It took 25 Los Angeles city firefighters, along with Los Angeles county firefighters, about 90 minutes to control the fire, said Jim Wells, a city Fire Department spokesman. City fire helicopters also dropped water on the blaze, he said.

One traffic lane remained closed after 4 p.m., the CHP said.