Fire closes down highway

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A brush fire on the ocean side of Highway 101 near the State Beaches exit in Ventura County completely closed the southbound lands of the busy highway for 20 minutes during rush hour and caused severe delays until the fire was put out just after 7 p.m.
Robert Navarro, a dispatcher for the Ventura County Fire Department, said the fire was reported just after 5 p.m. He said firefighters found a car that had caught on fire in the area, but have not determined if the flaming vehicle was what sparked the blaze.
Navarro said the fire consumed two acres and no injuries were reported as a result.
A spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol said the highway was partially opened for much of the two hour blaze and traffic was routed slowly through the median.
Navarro said the fire didn’t threaten any structures, but it was a priority to limit the flames to the ocean side of the highway, where the water created a natural fire break.
He said Ventura city fire crews and members of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection helped battle the brief blaze.