>>>Los Angeles fire traffic reports, closures, detours and iPhone traffic apps

The Santa Ana winds continue to fuel fires north of Los Angeles.

- The Marek fire is causing major traffic problems in the San Fernando Valley.

- Porter Ranch fire shuts down 118 Freeway; 1 motorist dead

Below are traffic resources and Los Angeles Times fire links to use as you try to get around (and out of) Los Angeles.

1) Traffic.com Los Angeles Traffic Report | The “Alerts” show the freeway sections that are closed due to fire. They get specific all the way down to the offramps. Some examples at 12:45 p.m. were:

>> FIRE: 118 Freeway — westbound is closed in both directions between Stearns Street and Tampa Avenue — SigAlert in effect until further notice. ALTERNATE: 101

>> FIRE: 210 Freeway — westbound is closed until further notice in both directions between the 5 and the 2 freeways due to the Marek fire. All onramps between the 118 and 2 freeways are also closed.  ALTERNATE: E/B traffic diverted off at Maclay Street.  W/B traffic diverted to S/B 2

Also see the incidents in the Traffic Summary: Example: 118 Freeway - Eastbound is closed until further notice between the 5 and 210 freeways. All onramps between the 5 and 210 are also closed. DETOUR: traffic diverted to S/B 5. ALTERNATE: S/B 101

2) SigAlert Los Angeles & Orange County | This is a traffic map of Greater Los Angeles. More in-depth reports, traffic cams, and accident alerts. Sign up for “My SigAlert”; the first two weeks are free; afterward, the cost is $2.95 a month or $19.95 a year.

3) Caltrans Live Traffic Cams | Caltrans offers live traffic Web cams. It requires a free plug-in that doesn’t take too long to download. Available for both Macs and PCs. Let us know if you were able to see the videos of the 210 Freeway. I was able to download the RealPlayer and get the video up, but the screen was completely black. Maybe a server overload?

4) iPhone traffic apps | The iPhone App store has a free LA Traffic Cam with a 2.5-star rating.

Trapster is a free 3-star app that alerts you as you approach an assortment of on-the-road traps  such as speed traps or red-light cameras. Might not be effective for fire traffic, but something to consider for other road trips. I heard about TrafficGauge but couldn’t find it on my phone. I did find it online and the price was$1.99 per month with the tip that it was best to order from your PC. When I tried to subscribe, it didn’t work and I found another page that said it was $3.99 per month. At this point, I’d rather check on the Web.

What traffic apps are you using on your iPhone? Do you have any Web cams to share with other readers?

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

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