Car Crash Sparks Brush Fire Near 241 Freeway In Irvine

click to expand

IRVINE (CBSLA) – A car crash sparked a brush fire near the 241 Freeway in Irvine early Thursday morning.

A car fire started a brush fire near the 241 Freeway in Irvine. Oct. 24, 2019. (Orange County Fire Authority)

The 5-acre blaze broke out at around 3:40 a.m. off Santiago Canyon Road, just south of the 241 Freeway interchange. According to California Highway Patrol's incident information page, it appears to have started after a car slammed into a telephone pole and caught fire. It's unclear if anyone was hurt in the wreck.

Santiago Canyon Road was shut down between the 241 Freeway south to Loma Ridge Road. No structures were threatened and there was no word of any evacuations.

The Orange County Fire Authority was battling the blaze with ground crews and water-dropping helicopters. Just before 6:30 a.m., OCFA reported that crews had stopped forward progress on the fire.

It's unclear exactly how the car fire spread to the brush.

The entire Southland Thursday is expected to see critical fire conditions caused by gusty Santa Ana winds. A 100-acre vegetation fire also broke out Thursday morning in the San Bernardino National Forest.