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You might want to think twice about hopping on the 405 for a little bit if you're headed toward the Valley this afternoon. Firefighters have shut down northbound traffic on the freeway because of a small brushfire in Mission Hills.
It's a small fire and it's not threatening any buildings, but boy does traffic look bad in the Valley. The fire broke out around 3 p.m. near the junction with the 118 Freeway. The Los Angeles Fire Department said the blaze was three acres and they expected to knock it down soon so they could open up the freeway lanes ASAP. (UPDATE: They're open! Traffic still looks sluggish, though.)
LAFD spokesman Erik Scott told KTLA wind gusts blew embers across freeway, increasing the fire's size.
It's definitely fire weather out there today. Fueled by winds and sizzling heat, 50 acres of Los Cerritos Wetlands in Long Beach burned today. A South Los Angeles business near Central Avenue and Century Boulevard went up in flames around 3 p.m. after electrical lines fell, according to City News Service. Two homes near Exposition Park went up in flames around the same time (KTLA has aerial photos). All of those fires have been contained, and no injuries were reported.
