Portion Of 5 Freeway In Castaic Still Closed As Crews Battle Route Fire
CASTAIC (CBSLA) – Hundreds of firefighters continue to battle the Route Fire burning along the 5 Freeway in Castaic Monday.
The Route Fire has scorched 462 acres and was 63% contained as of Sunday night.
The blaze broke out just before 4 p.m. Saturday in the area of Templin Highway and the 5 Freeway. It is burning in brush and chaparral.
At one point over the weekend, the entire 5 Freeway was shut down. As of Monday morning, the southbound side of the freeway had fully reopened, but only one northbound lane was open.
The northbound closure was expected to last through at least 7 p.m. Monday, according to California Highway Patrol.
About 320 personnel with the U.S. Forest Service and Los Angeles County Fire Department were battling the blaze on the ground and in the air.
"When you couple the really aggressive and unusual fire behavior we've been experiencing this year, and then you tie in the relative low humidity with the high temperatures, it can be very strenuous on the firefighters, USFS spokesperson John Miller told CBSLA Sunday.
There was no word on a cause. Two firefighters suffered burn injuries, but no structures were damaged.