Brush fire grows along I-5 in Gorman area

Staff reports
Updated ·3 min read
The moon shines over the Post Fire early Sunday burning between Gorman and Pyramid Lake.
The moon shines over the Post Fire early Sunday burning between Gorman and Pyramid Lake.

A brush fire off Interstate 5 in the Gorman area that started Saturday afternoon grew to more than 14,000 acres by Sunday evening and has entered Ventura County, officials said.

The fire entered the county below Hungry Valley and has consumed about 2,000 acres of wilderness in the southeastern portion of the Los Padres National Forest, the Ventura County Fire Department said.

Andy VanSciver, a spokesman for the fire department, said more than 125 Ventura County firefighters are on scene out of more than 400 assigned to the incident. The fire is at 2% containment, he said Sunday afternoon.

An evacuation order for the Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area remained in place Sunday morning. Evacuation warnings remained in place for communities south of Hungry Valley.

Authorities directed people to online evacuation map.

The blaze on the southbound side of the freeway, named the Post Fire, started around 1:45 p.m. Saturday and grew to thousands of acres within a few hours, according to Los Angeles County fire and sheriff reports.

The cause remained under investigation.

California State Parks evacuated about 1,200 people from the Hungry Valley park Saturday, fire officials said. Pyramid Lake had been closed due to fire threat.

No injuries have been reported. Two commercial properties had been damaged and two remained under threat, an update from fire officials said.

The Post Fire off Interstate 5 in the Gorman sent up large clouds of smoke.
The Post Fire off Interstate 5 in the Gorman sent up large clouds of smoke.

The National Weather Service warned of strong winds in the area Saturday and Sunday nights along with relative humidity as low as 15% on Sunday. Gusts were expected to reach 50-60 mph.

Traffic over the Grapevine corridor was flowing freely Sunday morning. Some freeway ramps and roads remained closed in the Gorman area.

The fire initially erupted near the small community of Gorman in northwest LA County, near the border with Kern and Ventura counties.

LA County fire authorities described the blaze early on as a third-alarm incident.

By later Saturday afternoon, the fire was moving south toward Pyramid Lake. Heavy smoke and fire brought air support to fire crews at the Los Alamos fire station near the campground off Hard Luck Road, with the station itself reportedly at risk from fire for a time.

Billowing clouds of smoke were visible via utility company and other cameras along the mountainous corridor, which connects motorists in Ventura and Los Angeles counties to the Central Valley over Tejon Pass.

Smoke from the Post Fire off Interstate 5, near Gorman, is captured by a PG&E camera on Saturday.
Smoke from the Post Fire off Interstate 5, near Gorman, is captured by a PG&E camera on Saturday.

Ventura County firefighters, including a county helicopter, had been deployed to the firefight. Ventura County Sheriff's deputies had also assisted for a time, said Capt. Ken Truitt, but had been released before nightfall.

A unified command with Los Angeles County and Ventura County fire departments and the U.S. Forest Service is overseeing the incident.

Unconfirmed reports on the California Highway Patrol's incident log showed the fire was initially reported around 1:45 p.m. when a caller saw sparks from a horse trailer being pulled by a pickup truck. Over the next 10 minutes or so, other reports indicated there was fire near the Gorman McDonald's.

This story may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Brush fire along I-5 in Gorman area brings large response