A rapidly spreading brush fire, fueled by dry conditions and high winds, threatened homes in San Diego’s North County Tuesday and prompted evacuations for a number of communities and schools.
Large plumes of smoke could be seen over the exclusive community of Santaluz and as far west as Interstate 5 after the Bernardo Fire sparked around 11 a.m. near Black Mountain Road west of Interstate 15.
As of 4 p.m., the fire had scorched 700 acres and sent thousands of families either heading to safer ground or preparing their homes for the possibility of evacuation.
No homes have burned and fire crews estimate approximately 5 percent containment.
Flames jumped over Camino del Sur at the same time school buses were carrying students from nearby elementary schools out of the area.
Around 2 p.m., flames estimated to be 7 to 8 feet high were marching west burning heavy brush in canyon areas just east of San Dieguito Road.
Residents watched as fire crews from all across the county organized an attack on the brush fire from the ground and the air.
Santaluz resident Chuck Dawson said he watched as flames threaten his home.
“The heat is ferocious as you get close to it. In fact, it probably came within 25 feet of our house. Luckily we had about 30 firemen who barricaded it and it burned all the way around, but we’re safe," he said.
San Diego police officers have closed roads and are helping with evacuations.
New mandatory evacuations were announced for Fairbanks Ranch, Fairbanks Country Club and Rancho Santa Fe.
Areas under evacuation:
- Fairbanks Country Club
- Circa Del Norte
- Northern Lights Road
- Black Mountain Park
- Fairbanks Ranch
- Artesian Road
- Avenida del Terrance
- San Dieguito/Montien Road area
- Entrada de luz East
- Run of the Knolls
- Black Mountain Ranch
- Santaluz
Evacuation centers have been established at Torrey Pines High School, Poway High School and Rancho Bernardo High School. Officials said they expect to shut down all evacuation centers and use RB High School for most of those affected.
Officials have established a command post at Del Norte High School.
A reverse 911 notification was sent to 1000 homes from the 4S Ranch, Rancho Bernardo, Ranch Penasquitos area as a warning, not a call to evacuate according to San Diego County sheriff's deputies.
An NBC 7 News crew reports that high tension wires are preventing aircraft from making drops close to the ground on the west side of Camino Del Sur.
The fire started around 11 a.m. Tuesday at Nighthawk Lane and Camino San Bernardo, near Del Norte High School.
Lee Swanson, spokesperson for San Diego-Fire Rescue, said the fire started in an area cleared for new construction.
Residents were lined up along fences watching as fire crews hosed down the brush close to their backyards.
In southeastern Rancho Santa Fe near Zumaque Street, north of the fire, residents remember the 2007 Firestorm when seven or eight homes burned.
While they have not yet been evacuated, residents say they will be ready to go if ordered to do so.
Resident of 4S Ranch Yvonne Leijen said she heard the alarms, saw the firefighters and immediately recalled a devastating brush fire that threatened the area years ago.
“It reminded me so much of the big fire in 2007,” Leijen told NBC 7.
She said she went to the gas station and filled up her car, checked on her son’s school and then returned to see how fire crews were handling the flames
“I thought, should I be smart? What should I do?” she said. “I hope the winds will die down soon.”
Crews from the San Diego Fire Department, the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District, the Poway Fire Department and the San Pasqual Fire Department have responded to the two-alarm fire.
Two helicopters were dropping water from Santaluz Golf Club onto the flames. Earlier in the day, air tankers were using fire retardant to try and direct the flames into the open space and away from the multi-million dollar homes in the gated communities to the west.
No injuries have been reported. There is no word yet what caused the fire.
Around 900 students at Willow Grove Elementary have been evacuated - some to Torrey Pines and others to Westview High School. Students at Stone Ranch Elementary were sent to Ranch Bernardo High School, according to the Poway Unified School District. There were 700 students evacuated from Del Sur Elementary School. Oak Valley Middle School and Del Norte High School were not evacuated.
Once evacuations of the school affected are complete, the buses will be used to transport students not near the fire threat. Because delays could be hours, district officials suggest parents pick their children up for school.
As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, temperatures in 4S Ranch were 89 degrees with 11 percent relative humidity and wind gusts averaging 22 mph, according to NBC 7's Whitney Southwick.
Air support is critical now since some of the terrain is inaccessible, Southwick said.
Also, keep in mind that flames typically gain momentum as they race uphill.
As one firefighter told NBC 7, "The wind is taking it and it's gonna make it a couple a day project here."
Around 3:30 p.m., NBC 7's Dagmar Midcap said winds were measuring 10 to -15 mph. But with sea breezes coming in, Midcap said that will begin to change the wind from the east/northeast.
The Helen Woodward Animal Center was preparing to evacuate and requested people with horse trailers, who may be able to assist with horses & large animals, email social@animalcenter.org.
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Photo Credit: Lauren Lee