Highway 154 reopens after overnight closure due to car hauler fire

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A fire around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night impacted traffic on Highway 154 overnight and into Wednesday morning. A semi-truck hauling five to six vehicles caught fire on the San Marcos Pass near Lake Cachuma. As of 6 a.m. Wednesday the road is now back open to traffic.

Santa Barbara County Fire Department firefighters responded Tuesday night and reported the fire had spread to the nearby vegetation, but crews were able to put the flames out. Only a 50-foot by 5-foot section of brush burned, according to Santa Barbara County Fire. The truck and its load of cars were badly damaged if not destroyed in the fire.

What caused the fire is under investigation. The roadway had been closed on the Santa Barbara side at Cathedral Oaks and at Highway 246 on the Santa Ynez side for about 8-hours due to the fire.