The two right lanes of the northbound 5 Freeway between Lake Hughes Road and Templin Highway in Castaic remain closed on Sunday. Sept. 4 and are expected to stay that way through the holiday weekend.

Retaining walls burned in the 5,208-acre Route fire, which began on Wednesday, Aug. 31, and structural engineers must inspect the integrity of the walls before any load is put on the lanes, Caltrans said.

On Saturday afternoon there was about a 90-minute delay, CBS Los Angeles reported. Drivers heading north and trying to cut through on residential streets were creating havoc there.

“Everybody’s coming in from everywhere,” Elanit Cleary, who lives in Castaic, told CBS Los Angeles. “The traffic is so backed up we can’t go to the grocery store. We can’t go to Target. We can’t go anywhere.”

NB I-5 two right lanes closed near #RouteFire #Castaic. Retaining walls burned; structural engineers must inspect wall integrity before any load is put on lanes. Queue is 11 mi and delay is 90 mins. PLEASE use #US101 or #SR14 instead of I-5. pic.twitter.com/bFGtgtx9aT

— Caltrans District 7 (@CaltransDist7) September 3, 2022

Related: This map shows the location of the Route fire

Caltrans is reminding motorists to take alternate routes. Use the 101 Freeway or Highway 14, Caltrans tweeted over the weekend. See some other suggestions here.

Firefighters increased containment of the blaze to 87% Saturday evening, up from 71% that morning, authorities said.

Both sides of the freeway were shut down on Wednesday when the fire broke out. Within an hour of the blaze being reported, it jumped to 60 acres.

The 5 Freeway is busy because it is the most direct route from Southern California to Northern California, said Marc Bischoff, a Caltrans District 7 spokesman.

Authorities urged drivers to exercise caution as fire apparatus will continue using the roads as crews monitor the area in the coming days.