BREAKING NEWS

Wildfire northwest of Los Angeles burns 1,2000 acres of land

By REUTERS

DECEMBER 27, 2015 00:43

Updated: DECEMBER 27, 2015 00:44

VENTURA, Calif. - A wildfire northwest of Los Angeles burned about 1,200 acres of land, forced the closure of parts of a major highway and led to evacuations on Saturday, fire officials said.

More than 600 firefighters battled the blaze in the Solimar Beach area of Ventura County, and parts of US Highway 101 were closed for part of the day, county fire department officials told a news conference.

No injuries have been reported, fire officials said. No structures have been damaged by the fire, but nearby Union Pacific rail lines were closed for a period and the fire is a threat to oil, gas and power lines.

The northbound side of the highway, a major roadway in the region, reopened around 2 p.m. local time (22:00 GMT) and the southbound traffic was due to reopen shortly, state transportation officials said on Twitter. At 1:30 p.m. local time, an Amtrak train heading north and filled with passengers passed near Solimar Beach, according to a Reuters witness.

"Even if we do open up the roadways, it's still not a contained fire," Ventura County Fire Department Chief Norm Plott told reporters earlier in the day. "It's a very dynamic fire. We're not quite out of the woods yet."

The fire is less than 10-percent contained and it will take at least three days to get it under control, fire officials said. The cause of the fire was still under investigation.

Helicopters and fixed-wing tankers were helping to battle the blaze with water drops.

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