Newhall Pass Brush Fire Briefly Blocks 5 Freeway
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials have reopened a key freeway junction in the Los Angeles area that was shut down for 90 minutes by a brush fire.
City News Service reported Saturday that three fire agencies using bulldozers, air support and ground crews battled the afternoon blaze on a hillside north of the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 14 in the Newhall Pass.
The news service says the flames had jumped to the west of the 5, blocking traffic on both freeways.
Winds gusting to 65 mph were reported at 1:30 p.m. five miles southeast of the fire. The freeways were reopened at 2:15 p.m.
Several small brush fires have been breaking out amid hot, dry Santa Ana winds in Southern California this weekend. But crews have been able to control them.
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