A wind-fueled brush fire scorched at least 1,000 acres in the Santa Clarita area Tuesday, prompting some evacuations and the closure of a section of the Golden State (5) Freeway and state Route 126 as a precaution.
The Rye Fire was reported about 9:35 a.m. near the 2500 block of Rye Canyon Loop, near highway 126, also known as Newhall Ranch Road, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. About 250 firefighters were working to extinguish the fire, which was burning in light to medium fuels amid gusting Santa Ana winds.
The 5 Freeway was closed in both directions near SR 126, and Rye Canyon Loop was also closed, along with SR 126 from Copperhill Drive to the 5 Freeway.
Evacuations were ordered along Rye Canyon Loop and Kelly Johnson Parkway. Authorities also evacuated the Valencia Travel Village RV park in the 27900 block of Henry Mayo Drive in Castaic. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for the Westridge housing community. An evacuation center was established at Valencia High School.
Students at Rancho Pico Junior High School, West Ranch High School and Oak Hills Elementary School in the Westridge area were bused to College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita city officials said. College of the Canyons canceled classes at both of its campuses Tuesday night.
Power was interrupted to about 2,090 customers in the Santa Clarita area, according to Southern California Edison. Due to the outages, some 9-1-1 calls to the sheriff’s Santa Clarita station were being re-routed, the sheriff’s department reported.
–City News Service