SAN DIEGO -- A brush fire blackened several brush-covered acres alongside an East County freeway Tuesday, causing heavy congestion in the area, authorities said.

The blaze began spreading shortly before 4 p.m. on a hillside next to southbound State Route 125, near Lemon Avenue in La Mesa, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Crews had the flames under control within an hour, a dispatcher said. No injuries or structural losses were immediately reported.