3 fires along Highway 101 bring traffic to a crawl through SLO

Three small fires along Highway 101 brought southbound traffic to a crawl in San Luis Obispo on Wednesday afternoon.

The first fire was detected around 3:34 p.m. near the southbound Madonna Road off-ramp onto Highway 101, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Traffic Incident Information Page.

Originally reported as a mattress burning on the roadside, an additional caller advised that the flames had spread to nearby brush near Los Osos Valley Road around 3:38 p.m., according to the CHP page.

A few minutes later farther south, a car fire was reported on the southbound side of Highway 101 around 3:41 p.m., according to the CHP page.

Flames were reported as coming from a silver Subaru, whose driver had exited the vehicle on the roadside, according to the CHP page.

By 3:58 p.m., the fire had been knocked down, along with a 5-by-5-foot spot fire surrounding the burn, according to emergency services app Pulsepoint.

The third fire was located farther down the southbound lane of Highway 101 near the San Luis Bay Drive off-ramp, where flames were reported coming from under a vehicle.

Southbound traffic near San Luis Obispo on Highway 101 was slowed by the fires, though traffic appeared to be easing around 4 p.m.