As the plane was ascending, a warning siren indicated there was a fire in one of the plane's engines. Hawkins said the pilot shut the engine down and diverted to Oakland.
Hawkins said crews on Saturday will try to determine whether there was in fact a fire, and if so, what caused it.
There were 108 passengers and five crew members aboard, and no one was injured. The passengers were put on another flight and arrived in Los Angeles before midnight.
The Associated Press contributed to this report