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SAN DIEGO — A car fire spread to a hillside off the freeway in the Scripps Ranch area Thursday, slowing traffic while crews extinguished the flames.

The fire broke out around 12:30 p.m. on northbound Interstate 15 just past state Route 52, according to Caltrans.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the car to start alight, but a California Highway Patrol incident log showed that callers reported a white sedan in flames on the righthand side. The fire then spread to brush on a nearby hillside, according to the agency.

San Diego Fire-Rescue said it called in a firefighting helicopter to help ground crews with the blaze, which they said was about one acre in size by 12:50 p.m.

“No structures threatened at this point,” the department said on Twitter, adding that drivers should use caution traveling through the area.

By about 1 p.m., the department said that firefighters had stopped the blaze from growing any further.

“Crews will be in the area until about 2:30 pm to make sure the fire doesn’t flare back up again,” SDFD wrote on Twitter. “Please use caution in the area.”