Firefighters responded to a brush fire that quickly grew to dozens of acres and caused highway lane closures east of Julian on Thursday.
The fire was first reported around 1:30 p.m. near state Route 78 and San Felipe Road, Cal Fire Capt. Robert Johnson said. Within three hours, the blaze had grown to 50 acres and was 5% contained.
Johnson said firefighters at the scene were working in steep and rocky terrain but were making progress as of 4:30 p.m. Crews on the ground were being assisted by aircraft to help contain the blaze, Johnson said.
No structures were immediately threatened, and no injuries had been reported as of 4 p.m.
Minutes after the fire broke out, California Highway Patrol officers shut down both sides of the highway in the area to help responding firefighters, according to CHP traffic logs. A SigAlert was issued around 3 p.m., and the road closures remained in effect as of 4:50 p.m.
No other information was immediately available.
