Firefighters stopped the forward progress of a small brushfire that charred about an acre of grass and shut down the San Diego (405) Freeway in Hawthorne.
The blaze was reported at 3:18 p.m., said Los Angeles County Fire Department Dispatch Supervisor Melanie Flores.
The California Highway Patrol closed all lanes of the freeway just before 4 p.m. A SigAlert had been issued at 3:34 p.m., and motorists began driving the wrong way down ramps to get off the roadway, away from the fire.
The CHP reopened all northbound lanes at 6:16 p.m. Southbound lanes were also reopened with the exception of the number 3 and 4 lanes, the CHP reported. It was not immediately known when those lanes would reopen.
“Our units remain on the scene to do mop-up and to put out any hot spots that might flare up,” Flores said.
No injuries were reported. No structures were threatened.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.