A fast-moving vegetation fire blackened approximately 400 acres on Monday afternoon in San Luis Obispo County, forcing the closure of Highway 101 for a few hours.
At approximately 2:45 p.m., crews from Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department and other fire agencies were dispatched to blaze along Highway 101 near the Avila Beach Drive offramp, just north of Pismo Beach.
Fanned by windy conditions, the Avila Fire quickly spread to both sides of the freeway.
Evacuations of homes in the Shell Beach and Pismo Beach neighborhoods prompted the creation of an evacuation center at the Walmart parking lot, 1168 W. Branch St. in Arroyo Grande.
In addition to crews on the ground, the force battling the flames included bulldozers, water tenders, hand crews and aircraft.
There were reports of toppled power poles and downed power lines in the area.
The fire threatened several homes, according to emergency dispatch reports, and Dolphin Bay Resort and Spa reported palm trees on the property were burning.
By Monday evening, Cal Fire officials said the blaze did not damage any structures and that an evacuation advisory for the Pismo Heights neighborhood had been cancelled.
As the flames and smoke grew Monday afternoon, California Highway Patrol officers shut down northbound Highway 101 lanes at Mattie Road in Pismo Beach and the southbound lanes of the highway at San Luis Bay Drive.
Southbound lanes reopened at approximately 8:15 p.m. as firefighters reported they had surrounded 10 percent of the fire.
Several roads in the Pismo Beach area also were closed for a time due to firefighting activity.
Personnel and equipment from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department also responded to the incident.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
