A 400 acre brush fire threatened homes on the Central Coast Monday evening, and forced the closure of Highway 101 for hours, but firefighters are getting the upper hand on the blaze.
It started just before 4 p.m. Monday southeast of Avila Beach. It grew rapidly, jumping Highway 101, and closing it to traffic during the evening commute.
Firefighters supported by aircraft kept the fire from reaching homes. It's now 10% contained.
The southbound 101 reopened at around 8 Monday night, but northbound lanes were still closed as of 9:30 p.m. No homes were reported damaged. There's no word on the cause of the fire.