Wildfire closes highway in Southern California, homes evacuated

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) – A wind-whipped wildfire closed a major coastal highway in Southern California and forced dozens of homes to be evacuated, authorities said Saturday. No injuries or damages were reported.

The fire began late Friday northwest of the city of Ventura and immediately reached Pacific Coast Highway, also known as the 101. It is a major route connecting Northern and Southern California.

The fire, fueled by dry timber and winds that reached 50 mph, closed Pacific Coast Highway in both directions on a roughly 15-mile northwest between state highways 150 and 33, forcing holiday motorists to narrow backcountry roads.

“We had multiple motorists stranded with the flames impinging on the highway,” said Ventura County Fire Battalion Chief Fred Burris. “We had motorists making U-turns going opposing directions on the freeway with other motorists, not realizing the situation.”

The fire spread to more than 1,200 acres and was about 10 percent contained Saturday morning, said Tom Kruschke, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. Steep canyons and winds that quickly changed directions were the biggest obstacles for about 600 firefighters who attacked the blaze on the ground and from the air.

About 60 homes in the Solimar Beach community were under mandatory evacuation orders and about 30 homes were put under voluntary evacuation orders, Kruschke said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.