Update: Wildfire closes Highway 41 lane near SLO County border
Update, 6:25 p.m.:
The fire is now 80 acres and “resources are making good progress,” according to WatchDuty reports.
Meanwhile Highway 41 was expected to have to be closed until approximately 10 p.m., according to the CHP incident report page.
Update, 6 p.m.:
While the Cotton Fire burned the hillside, the California Highway Patrol closed the southbound lane of Highway 41 two miles north of the San Luis Obispo County line, the traffic log said.
Meanwhile, the northbound lane of Highway 41 was closed starting near Highway 46, the CHP said.
Update, 5:40 p.m.:
The Cotton Fire had expanded to 15 acres and was moving west by 5:33 p.m., according to Watch Duty.
Emergency responders asked the California Highway Patrol to close the eastbound lane of Highway 41.
Original story:
A wildfire ripped through the grass beside Highway 41 near the San Luis Obispo County border on Thursday afternoon, according to the Kern County Fire Department.
The blaze was first reported at 4:42 p.m. in Kern County about one mile east of the San Luis Obispo County line, according to the emergency response application PulsePoint.
As of about 5 p.m., the Cotton Fire was about 10 acres with a moderate rate of spread on the south side of the highway, Kern County Fire Department spokesperson Jeremy Ruiz said.
Watch Duty said the fire could expand to 300 acres.
The fire did not threaten any structures, Ruiz said.
Aircraft dropped fire retardant and water on the blaze, and firefighters in engines were still en route to the scene, he said.
The California Highway Patrol was considering shutting down some lanes on the highway at 5:22 p.m. because heavy smoke was impacting traffic, according to a Caltrans report.
This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 5:27 PM.
