The 73 toll freeway was shut down in both directions near the 133 Freeway in an unincorporated greenbelt area near Aliso Viejo as firefighters battled multiple brush fires Wednesday.
The Orange County Fire Authority was first alerted to the brush fires about 3:30 p.m. along the southbound 73 just west of the 133, said OCFA Capt. Sean Doran.
There were three separate blazes “along this area within 300 yards of each other,” Doran said.
“There was one small spot fire we had go across to the northbound side, but we made that a priority drop” and it was quickly extinguished, Doran said.
One of the fires was along the Newport Coast, he said.
Two of the blazes were roughly two to three acres in size, with the potential to spread to about 10 acres each, according to reports.
Laguna Canyon Road remained open as of 4 p.m.
There was no immediate word of any structure threat or injuries.