SACRAMENTO, Calif. — One lane of eastbound Highway 50 remains closed near Placerville after fire crews extinguished a vehicle fire that spread and turned into the vegetation off of the highway, Cal Fire said.
The 20-acre fire is 100 percent contained. A pickup truck engulfed in flames on the side of the highway started the fire. Fifteen fire engines, five hand crews, one bulldozer, two air tankers and one helicopter responded to the scene.
The fast lane of eastbound Highway 50 and all westbound lanes have reopened, according to Caltrans. One eastbound lane remains closed near Greenstone and Studebaker Roads in El Dorado County.
The El Dorado Sheriff's Office evacuated homes off of Studebaker Road and La Verne Lane. The sheriff's office is "starting to repopulate the evacuated areas," according to a tweet from the office.
While Cal Fire originally had both directions of the highway closed around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, westbound lanes were soon opened to traffic.
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This is a developing story.