EAST COUNTY
A brush fire that destroyed three homes after igniting Saturday in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park was 90 percent contained Wednesday, fire officials said.
The Southern fire scorched 5,366 acres over the weekend as it prompted evacuations and destroyed the houses as well as two “accessory” buildings, according to Cal Fire officials.
#SouthernFire off Great Southern Overland, Aqua Caliente in San Diego County remains 5,366 acres and 90% contained. @CALFIRESANDIEGOhttps://t.co/eN0mmuGTFjpic.twitter.com/50u5E7S6h6 CAL FIRE (@CAL FIRE) May 5, 2021
The acreage total of the blaze provided by Cal Fire Wednesday morning was about 48 acres larger than Tuesday evening’s estimates.
Gusty winds and continued dry weather have caused wildfires to flare up in portions of California, including one blaze in San Diego County that exploded in size Saturday afternoon. And the fire threat is not over yet, according to forecasters. A brush fire, dubbed the Southern Fire, flared up in the community of Shelter Valley, California, near Anza-Borrego Desert State Park late Saturday afternoon. The fire was spreading at a "critical rate".
SHELTER VALLEY (KUSI) – Firefighters are battling a brush fire today in Shelter Valley that has consumed approximately 2,900 acres.
Containment is at zero percent, among strong overnight winds of 40 to 60 miles per hour. Firefighters continue to work, building a containment line, the San Diego Count Fire Department reported.
The fire was reported by Cal Fire San Diego at 5:15 p.m. Saturday on the Great Southern Overland.
Motorists first called the California Highway Patrol to report smoke in the area at 4:06 p.m. and the agency reported the address as 14925 Great Southern Overland Stage.
By 6:38 p.m., the agency tweeted that the fire had spread to about 1,200 acres, three structures were destroyed and roughly 500 residents were evacuated from the Butterfield Ranch Campground to Agua Caliente.
Print
Firefighters in San Diego have ramped up efforts in recent years to ensure that residents are routinely clearing their properties of flammable vegetation, such as dead plants and highly flammable grasses.
California law requires homeowners in high-fire areas to adhere to landscaping rules within 100 feet of a property. That includes trimming back tree branches that overhang a roof and removing vegetation around decks and porches.
While efforts to enforce those rules haven’t always been a top priority for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, that could be changing in some regions.
Last year, Cal Fire San Diego inspected nearly 26,000 of the roughly 70,000 parcels the agency oversees throughout unincorporated San Diego County, according to agency data. That’s up from the fewer than 10,000 properties visited in 2018.