Several southbound lanes of the 5 Freeway were shut down due to a wildfire near Fort Tejon on Friday afternoon.
About 4:20 p.m. Friday, emergency responders from Kern County Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) started hearing reports of a small brush fire on the 5 Freeway near the Fort Tejon State Historic Park, according to CHP incident logs.
The incident, named the Grape Fire, quickly spread in the brush on the roadside, causing first responders to call for a shutdown of all southbound lanes of the 5 Freeway for an unknown duration, per CHP reports.
The No. 3 and No. 4 lanes of the southbound 5 Freeway were shut down for an unknown duration at Fort Tejon to allow firefighters to handle the incident. Expect traffic delays.
Information on the size of the fire was difficult to ascertain as of 5 p.m. Friday. An Evacuation Warning has been issued for residents of Digier Canyon in the Lebec area by Kern County authorities.
Fort Tejon is a former U.S. Army outpost approximately 40 miles north of Santa Clarita, built in the 1850s and intermittently used for the next decade. The location houses a museum and restored buildings from the fort, according to the website. The grounds are also home to several 400-year-old oak trees.
The cause of the fire is unknown as of Friday afternoon.
Ed. Note: This is a breaking news incident, more information will be added as it becomes available.
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