700-acre brush fire shuts down portion of Highway 46 in northern SLO County

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A brush fire in Kern County closed an eastbound lane of Highway 46 in San Luis Obispo County on Wednesday afternoon.

Two separate brush fires broke out at the intersection of Highway 46 and Bitterwater Road in Kern County shortly before 1 p.m. and quickly spread to cover 700 acres, Kern County Fire Spokesperson Andrew Freeborn told The Tribune.

Kern County Fire crews were on scene working to contain the spread, according to a post from the department on X.

Freeborn said one of the fires was 10% contained and the other was 30% contained as of 2:30 p.m.

The San Luis Obispo County side of the closure was at the western intersection of Bitterwater Road and Highway 46, north of Cholame. The two roads intersect again in Kern County, where the fire originated.

California Highway Patrol’s Templeton office told The Tribune there did not appear to be any impact on traffic due to the closure as of Wednesday afternoon.