CAJON PASS, CA : Car crash sparks brush fire along northbound I-15 in Cajon Pass on Friday, 27th July 2018

A car fire that spread into nearby vegetation along northbound Interstate 15 snarled traffic for hours Friday.

The crash occurred between Cleghorn Road and Highway 138 at 10:54 a.m., according to California Highway Patrol logs. Details are scarce, but the car caught fire, quickly spreading to nearby brush.

By 10:58 a.m., CHP logs were reporting that the flames were spreading to nearby brush. Scanner traffic reported the fire was “moving up the hillside” and several resources, including air support, were dispatched to the area.

Authorities quickly shut down the No. 4 and 5 lanes of northbound I-15 to allow fire crews to access the blaze. A SigAlert was issued at 11:15 a.m. and a hard closure for the truck scales was also requested.

National Forest Service San Bernardino Battalion Chief Jim Snow said crews were able to gain control of the fire quickly, stopping its forward spread at 2 acres.

“We have crews on all flanks,” Snow said just after 12:30 p.m. “We dropped some [fire] retardant at the top and were able to put enough in to secure the area.”

Firefighters from the National Forest Service, CalFire and San Bernardino County Fire Department were on hand to combat the blaze. While the spread of the fire was halted by 12:15 p.m., a small flare-up occurred shortly after but was also swiftly doused.

Yet the flare-up prompted officials to extend the lane closures until around 4:30 p.m, according to CHP logs — causing heavy delays on northbound I-15 as traffic backed up well past the Interstate 215 split.

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