The Route fire near Templin Highway is 63% contained

  • [Angeles National Forest firefighters on scene to knock down flames in the Route fire. Photo by Angeles National Forest.]

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    [Angeles National Forest firefighters on scene to knock down flames in the Route fire. Photo by Angeles National Forest.]

  • I-5 is open again, after Saturday's closure between Templin Highway and Hungry Valley due to the Route fire [SigAlert.com]. Failure of CalTrans to adequately remove dry brush from roadside shoulders all along the I-5 corridor through the Grapevine is also being questioned. Smoke flooded into the Western Antelope Valley [see next photo]

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    I-5 is open again, after Saturday's closure between Templin Highway and Hungry Valley due to the Route fire [SigAlert.com]. Failure of CalTrans to adequately remove dry brush from roadside shoulders all along the I-5 corridor through the Grapevine is also being questioned. Smoke flooded into the Western Antelope Valley [see next photo]

  • At 7:52 p.m. in the Neenach area, smoke from the

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    At 7:52 p.m. in the Neenach area, smoke from the "Route fire' flooded into the Western Antelope Valley [JoAnne Childers Word photo]

Lebec, CA (Sunday, Sept. 13, 2021 at 6:45 p.m.) – The Route fire has grown only a small amount and is now 462 acres. The blaze is 63% contained and there are 290 personnel on scene.

Lebec, CA (Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021 at 1:56 p.m.) – The Route fire is reported to now be 454 acres in size with 320 firefighters on scene. Angeles National Forest holds incident command and is being assisted by Los Angele County Fire Department. An unknown number of structures are threatened and no evacuation warnings have been issued at this time.

Lebec, CA (Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021 at 6 a.m.) – Interstate 5 north and southbound are now open again. The Route fire that started near Templin Highway blocked traffic along the I-5 corridor to Hungry Valley from about 3 p.m. Saturday through the evening, when one lane in each direction was opened. Smoke trailed into the Western Antelope Valley, including Neenach, as over 400 acres burned .

Locally, questions about CalTrans’ maintenance of the shoulders of I-5 are being raised again as roadside fires continue to plague the I-5 corridor from Templin through Lebec and up into Grapevine. Brush allowed to grow without routine night mowing provides dry fuel ready to burst into flames when overheated cars or big rig truck sparking erupts into flames. With over 100,000 vehicles a day passing on the  Interstate 5, maintenance of the roadside shoulder is critical to controlling fire hazard, Mountain Community residents observe.

Castaic, CA (Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 at 8:19 pm) – Lanes 1 and 2 of both north and southbound sides of I-5 remain open.

Castaic, CA (Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 at 7:00 pm)-The number 1 and 2 lanes on both the north and southbound sides have been opened according to CHP.

Castaic, CA (Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021 at 6:55 pm)-A wildfire reported to have started at Templin Highway before 4 p.m. had Interstate 5 closed in both directions in the 5 o’clock hour. The fire is estimated to be about 400 acres.

This is part of the September 10, 2021 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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