A brush fire, dubbed the Route Fire, broke out on Saturday afternoon with flames on both sides of the 5 Freeway in Castaic. 

UPDATE (11:10 a.m.): The No. 1 and 2 lanes of the northbound and southbound 5 Freeway have been opened, while No. 3 and 4 lanes have been temporarily shut-down as firefighters work to combat hot spots along the freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol Incident Logs.

“The fire is at 0 percent containment and has reached 462 acres,” said Cheryl Simms, a dispatch supervisor with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. 

The Route Fire Operations Chief took to social media Sunday morning from Whitaker Peak Road just north of Santa Clarita to address their strategy to prevent further spread. See below.

|#RouteFire| The Route Fire Operations Chief gives an update on the status of the fire. pic.twitter.com/PQP2ZJ1BVQ

— Angeles National Forest (@Angeles_NF) September 12, 2021

UPDATE (6:25 p.m.): The fire has reached 400 acres and is still at 0% containment, according to officials.

UPDATE (5:45 p.m.): The Route Fire is at 75 acres, according to Fire officials.

As of 5 p.m., there is only fire burning. Reports are there is a fire near Castaic High School, but it is only drift smoke from the Route Fire.

UPDATE (4:50 p.m.): The Route Fire is currently at 59 acres, according to Fire officials. 

Photo Courtesy of Austin Dave

At around 3:53 p.m. Saturday first responders received reports of a brush fire in Castaic near the 5 Freeway and Templin Highway, according to Angeles National Forest officials. 

Initial reports stated the fire to be located in the southbound side of the 5 Freeway, though it quickly jumped the freeway to the northbound as well.

As of 4:30 p.m. the brush fire has burned three acres.

All lanes of traffic on the 5 Freeway have been closed according to officials. 

All northbound lanes are closed at Templin Highway, and all south lanes are closed at Vist Del Lago for an unknown time.

For Drivers needing to go north, take the westbound Highway 126 to the 101 Freeway, or take the 14 Freeway to the 138 westbound back to the 5 Freeway.

Ed. Note: This is a breaking news story, more information will be added when it becomes available.  

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