Interstate 5 Reopens After Blaze Forces 6-Day Closure

SHASTA-TRINITY NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. (AP) — Officials say a major interstate near the California-Oregon border has reopened six days a wildfire roaring along the roadway forced its closure.

California Department of Transportation spokeswoman Denise Yergenson says one lane in each direction of Interstate 5 reopened Monday at 8:30 a.m.

She says no vehicles carrying potential flammable materials will be allowed along a 17-mile stretch between Antlers Bridge in Lakehead and Flume Creek Road south of the city of Dunsmuir, California. She says that includes vehicles carrying hay, wood chips, lumber, logs.

The highway that traverses the West Coast from Mexico to Canada and serves as a main artery for commerce had been closed since Wednesday, forcing trucks and other traffic on smaller roads that has added 100 miles (160 kilometers) to their journeys.