6:35 p.m.: The South Fire is still engulfing 160 acres, while still 35 percent contained, said Sims.
6:00 p.m.: The South Fire is now reported to be at 35 percent contained, according to Lt. Bauer.
5:23 p.m.: Evacuation centers are located at the Physical Education Center at College of the Canyons and at the Hilton Garden Inn; large animals are to be brought to the Castaic Animal Shelter, both according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Twitter page.
5:19 p.m.: District seven of the California Department of Transportation tweeted that the number three and four lanes of the Northbound I-5 freeway are closed until 8:30 p.m. The South Fire remains at 160 acres and not contained.
5:08 p.m.: The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department tweeted all streets south of Maple Street up to Wildwood Canyon Road are under mandatory evacuation.
5:03 p.m.: According to Lt. Leo Bauer of the SCV Sheriff’s Station, the South Fire is now moving east toward Newhall, south of Maple Street and alongside Wildwood Canyon Road.
4:43 p.m.: The South Fire has now reached 160 acres, according to the LA County Fire Department’s Public Information Twitter account. It is still not contained.
4:27 p.m.: The South Fire has grown to 50 acres, according to LA County Fire Department dispatcher Cheryl Sims. The fire has not been contained.
Resident Justin Weisman said he could smell the smoke from his Calgrove home. He said his first thought was to start hosing the house down.
“I moved in here two weeks ago, but this is my childhood home,” he said. “I know the house real well, so we got on it real quick. It’s a trip because I never seen flames this close.
A brush fire started Saturday afternoon by the I-5 freeway near Calgrove. As of 3:50 it is at 20 acres, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department supervising fire dispatcher Cheryl Sims.
Evacuations in that area are underway at White Oak Court and all adjacent streets in Newhall. Lt. Leo Bauer of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station said there was no confirmed number of evacuations, but that the evacuations are south of Calgrove and between the I-5 and Creekside Road.
“The vast majority of people are cooperating,” Bauer said regarding those who have been told to evacuate.
Reports of the fire being at 50 acres are unconfirmed, said the LA County Fire Department. A status on containment was also unconfirmed.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Skylar Barti contributed to the reporting for this story.
For more updates on the South Fire, follow @SCVSignal on Twitter and on Facebook.
