Several lanes of the 5 Freeway were shutdown in the Tejon Pass Thursday morning after a brush fire broke out in the hills next to the freeway.
The King fire began east of the 5 freeway just after 1 a.m., north of Pyramid Lake, near Smokey Bear Road and grew to almost 500 acres in a matter of hours, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The blaze was 5% contained by 8 a.m., according to a social media post from the department.
Authorities have closed two northbound lanes on the 5 Freeway between Smokey Bear and Vista Del Lago roads, and warned motorists to expect delays. All lanes were temporarily shut down at one point early Thursday, according to California Highway Patrol incident logs.
Evacuation warnings were issued for areas around Hungry Valley, Paradise Ranch and Gorman. A shelter in place order has been issued for the Pyramid Lake RV Park.
Officials warned that the blaze broke out in elevated — but not extreme — fire conditions, with early morning north winds hitting almost 30 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Those winds were expected to die down a bit during the day, before picking back up Thursday afternoon and evening, likely hitting up to 20 mph, said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the weather service based in Oxnard. Those winds could be more concerning given otherwise hot and dry weather, with temperatures around the fire expected to reach into the low 90s Thursday, and relative humidity dropping to 20% or lower.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
