Fire off 101 near Atascadero burns 54 acres, forces evacuations
3 pm: Fire is under control, however, some road closures are in effect near the fire area. Here is a quick update from KSBY (as of 2:30 pm) CHP says all southbound lanes of Hwy 101 should be open to traffic soon, once a pickup truck that spun out when the fire started is removed.
— City of Atascadero (@AtascaderoCity) August 16, 2019
–A vehicle collision on Highway 101 just south of Atascadero sparked a grass fire that burned about 54 acres Friday afternoon. The fire prompted evacuations and caused hours-long traffic backups, according to reports.
A Ford F-150 pickup crashed into a hillside near Santa Barbara Road about 12:27 p.m., sparking the fire, reports say.
By about 2 p.m., Cal Fire crews managed to slow the spread of the fire, according to a tweet.
Caltrans re-opened northbound Highway 101 at 3:15 p.m., although one soutbound lane remained closed at Santa Barbara Road.
Vegetation Fire: HWY 101 x HWY 58 Both lanes of HWY 101 are closed to traffic. #oakic #countyofslo #firefighters pic.twitter.com/AZD4sTmWbr
— CAL FIRE SLO (@CALFIRE_SLO) August 16, 2019
