5 Freeway traffic backed up for miles from brush fire at Castaic
A brush fire burning in the Castaic area snarled traffic on the northbound 5 Freeway and threatened a mobile home park, but no evacuations were ordered, officials said.
The blaze had burned 25 to 30 acres of brush in the Angeles National Forest as flames backed down a hillside about a quarter-mile from the Paradise Ranch Mobile Home Park, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.
“The body of the fire is walking back down the hillside,” Inspector Anthony Atkins told The Times.
The Sheriff’s Department said no evacuations had been ordered. Water-dropping helicopters were making repeated attacks on the blaze.
All but one northbound lane on the busy freeway was shut down near Templin Highway, backing traffic up for about five miles in Castaic, the California Highway Patrol said.
Winds were light as the fire moved in a easterly direction, fire officials said.
The blaze broke out on a day when triple-digit temperatures were recorded in Southern California. In nearby Saugus, the temperature topped out at 101, the National Weather Service said.
Earlier Monday, a 75-acre brush fire in San Bernardino County forced authorities to temporarily close Interstate 15 near the Lytle Creek area.
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