CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / CASTAIC

A burning car sparked a 15-acre brush fire on the Grapevine near Castaic Lake on Sunday, snarling traffic as authorities briefly shut down northbound Interstate 5.

California Highway Patrol dispatchers received a call at 11:18 a.m. from a stranded motorist whose four-door sedan was parked in the freeway’s center divider, said Officer Anthony Martin. Flames and smoke were coming from the engine.

Flames from the car sparked a brush fire on the northbound side near Lake Hughes Road, burning 15 to 20 acres in the hour it took for firefighters to put out the blaze, said Melanie Flores, supervising dispatcher for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

All northbound lanes of Interstate 5 were shut down for about 15 minutes. Just before noon, two lanes reopened. By 2 p.m., only one lane remained closed as firefighters finished their mop-up, Martin said.

-- Kimi Yoshino