First responders said the road closures caused on freeways in Santa Clarita due to the Saddleridge Fire were mostly lifted on Saturday.
A small flare-up on Interstate 5 south of Santa Clarita had caused some residents some concern, but fire department officials remain confident the SCV remains safe.
“They had a small flare-up over there on the I-5 but they’re doing a lot of work over there with a lot of resources on scene and there is still no threat to Santa Clarita,” said Maria Grycan, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The wind-blown fire that began around 9 p.m. on Thursday prompted evacuations in Sylmar, Granada Hills and Porter Ranch after growing to 4,700 acres within three hours.
Those evacuations, along with all others in the vicinity of the fire, had been lifted Saturday afternoon.
As of Saturday evening, the fire was being held at 7,965 acres with 33% containment. A total of 21 structures have been destroyed, 11 damaged and 17,627 threatened.
In terms of road conditions, California Highway Patrol officers have said things have largely cleared up on local freeways, with commuters using roads that had been shut down on Friday.
“Currently, just the southbound side of the I-5 truck lanes to the CA-14 and the pass-through are the only things closed right now,” said Officer Stephan Brandt of the CHP Traffic Management office. “I don’t know how long that is going to be closed but everything is opened up.”
Brandt said one of the last straggling roadways was the Interstate 210 between the I-5 and State Route 118 because of some fire in the hills nearby.
“But since that has been taken care of, everything is pretty good, especially in Santa Clarita,” said Brandt. “It’s thankfully wrapping up.”
