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StumbleCalifornia wildfire slows I-15 traffic ahead of busy travel weekend
AP Photo/Cynthia L. Webb
This image provided by Cynthia L. Webb shows a wildfire burning alongside Interstate 15, Friday Sept. 2, 2011in the high desert northeast of Los Angeles.
Published Friday, Sept. 2, 2011 | 3:21 p.m.
Updated Friday, Sept. 2, 2011 | 10:02 p.m.
Fire snarls Labor Day weekend traffic
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KSNV coverage of California wildfire that temporarily shuts down Interstate 15 to Labor Day weekend traffic, Sept. 2, 2011.
This image provided by Cynthia L. Webb shows a wildfire helicopter fighting a fire burning alongside Interstate 15 on Friday Sept. 2, 2011 in the high desert northeast of Los Angeles. This wildfire burning in Southern California national forest land has partially shut down the major freeway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Cajon Pass
A fast-moving wildfire temporarily closed part of Interstate 15 between the Los Angeles area and Las Vegas, just as many Californians were set to use the interstate to travel to Las Vegas for the holiday weekend.
The fire temporarily closed all lanes at the Cajon Pass, snarling traffic as drivers struggled to start their Labor Day getaways. Northbound lanes were reopened with an escort by the California Highway Patrol as the fire burned away from traffic lanes.
The southbound lanes were reopened Friday night. Officials earlier in the evening had said the lanes would likely be closed through Saturday morning.
The fire began about 1 p.m. on the center divider of I-15 in the Cajon Pass. It quickly grew to more than 500 acres within a couple of hours, jumping the freeway and burning chaparral in rolling hills that form the nearby San Bernardino National Forest and unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County, U.S. Forest Service spokesman John Miller said.
The highway closure was unwelcome news for travelers headed to Las Vegas, which is looking forward to the end-of-summer visitors.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said earlier this week that it expected 291,000 people to visit Las Vegas this weekend, up 3.6 percent from last year.
A large portion of those visitors was expected to come by automobile from Southern California. More than a quarter of all Las Vegas visitors are from Southern California, the LVCVA said.
About 1,500 homes were evacuated as the fire moved northwest toward large ranch homes in the Oak Hills area. Fire crews were placed to defend the houses, Miller said.
"There's million-dollar homes up there," Victorville resident Tom Woods told KCAL-TV.
The Oak Hills area contains hundreds of recently built luxury properties spread over the hills, Woods said. He said he could see a huge plume of smoke from his home 10 miles away.
Television news reports showed plumes of white smoke and a long line of fire running over scrub-dotted ridges. Flames burned within yards of some homes.
About a dozen aircraft, including a DC-10 jumbo jet tanker, were called in to help fight the flames.
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twitter @wearehealthy for detour directions for I 15 wildfire closure
Well,, Maybe Las Vegas should not put all of its eggs in one basket so to speak... When you rely on that southern california market so much for your livelyhood if any one thing happens them what do u do ?
just a thought out loud..
( not to mention Mother nature screwed a lot of casino execs bonuses for improvement in the numbers )
Most likely caused by someone carelessly tossing a lit cigarette out of their car window...what a terrible outcome.
I love California, but it's always shaking, burning, or sliding down a hill.