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Kern County Fire fully contains 60 acre blaze on the Grapevine

Posted at 4:12 AM, Oct 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-28 12:25:18-04

UPDATE (9:15a.m.): The Kern County Fire Department said the fire is now 100 percent contained. A total of 60 acres were burned. Crews are cleaning up and the two lanes of southbound I-5 should reopen shortly. 

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UPDATE (7:30a): The Kern County Fire Department remains on scene of a grass fire along southbound I-5 in the Fort Tejon area.

Officials said the fire started after a semi-truck caught fire, sparking the nearby grass. 

The fire is 50-60 acres and 60 percent contained as of 7:30 Saturday morning. 

Officials said at one point a total of 100 personnel were on scene including two dozers, a helicopter and a hand crew. 

Officials started a light task force for structure protection for a potential threat to homes in the area, however, quick action by crews and a direct attack prevented the threat. 

Two lanes on southbound I-5 in the Fort Tejon area remain closed. 

There is no estimate of when the lanes will reopen. 

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A semi-truck caught fire on Southbound Interstate 5, just north of the number 3 turn thru in the Fort Tejon Area around 3:30 a.m. this morning. 

According to the California Highway Patrol website, the semi-truck fire sparked a grass fire. Traffic is stopped at the number 4 turn around. 

Fire crews are working on the west side of the freeway and there's a hard closure for the number four lane. 

No word on when lanes are expected to reopen. 

CHP says the semi-truck fire is out, but fire crews are currently handling the grass fire. 

We will continue to update you as soon as we get more information.