Wildfire shuts down part of I-15 at Cajon Pass in California
A fast-moving wildfire has closed some lanes of Interstate 15 at Cajon Pass in Southern California on Friday.
As of late afternoon, a few northbound lanes were shut down, causing major traffic tie-ups, the San Bernardino Sun reported.
The fire started from a truck fire Friday morning, growing to 100 acres in less than two hours, the Sun reported. It was moving in a northeastern direction, officials said.
Two firefighters were injured battling the blaze in 100-degree heat.
Wildfires growing elsewhere
Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for San Diego County, where a wildfire has destroyed several homes.
Brown issued the declaration on Friday because of a blaze that tore through the community of Alpine, about 20 miles east of San Diego.
Reporters at the scene say at least five homes and perhaps a dozen or more burned.
Fire officials say they’ve stopped the growth of the 400-acre blaze but hotspots still threaten homes.
Elsewhere in the county, a 330-acre fire on the Camp Pendleton Marine base that prompted the evacuation of 750 homes is now 40 percent contained.
Record heat in Southern California
In downtown Los Angeles, it was only 10:15 a.m. when the mercury topped the July 6 mark of 94 degrees set in 1992 and kept on rising, hitting 100 before noon and continuing upward.
LA’s Woodland Hills neighborhood was a record 115 degrees by early afternoon, just a few degrees behind the 119 punishing the aptly named community of Thermal in the low desert southeast of Palm Springs.
Southeast of Los Angeles in Orange County, Los Alamitos Race Course canceled daytime racing after two races because of the heat.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
