BORDER FIRE IN POTRERO NOW 1,500 ACRES, EVACUATION CENTERS OPEN

Update 10 p.m. The fire is 5% contained and a firefighter has been injured, CalFire reports. An emergency overnight shelter is open at Campo Elementary School, 1654 Buckman Springs Rd.in Campo.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: air tanker battles the Border Fire, by Leon Thompson

June 19, 2016 (Potrero) --As of 7:20 tonight, the fast-growing Border Fire has charred 1,500 acres and led to mandatory evacuation orders for the entire town of Potrero, per Cal Fire.  Structures are threatened. 

Residents fleeing the Border Fire can now go to these evacuation centers:  Campo Community Center ( Cool Zone )  at 300 Sheridan Rd, Campo Elementary School ( Red Cross Shelter ) at 1654 Buckman Springs Rd, or the Dulzura Community Center at 1136 Community Building Road off State Route 94 (note corrected address). This information has been verified through Red Cross and Campo Community Center employees.  The Sheriff reports a third evacuation center opened at Campo Elementary School, 1654 Buckman Springs Road, Campo.

If you need emergency assistance in evacuation, call 9-1-1. If you need additional information, check the San Diego County Emergency website at www.sdcountyemergency.com or call the San Diego Sheriff's Department non-emergency line at 858-565-5200.  For help with large animal evacuations due to , call the San Diego County Animal Services at (619) 236-2341.  Follow additoinal updates on Twitter at #BorderFire.

Road closures in effect on Highway 94 are changing rapidly as the fire moves.  Get the latest traffic and road closure information at https://cad.chp.ca.gov/Traffic.aspx.  Here are closures as of now:

EB CLOSURE AT 188

- OLD HWY 80 AT 94

- OTAY LAKES RD AT 94

- WB 8 1/2 MI EO BUCKMAN SPRINGS

- WB 94 CLOSED AT POTRERO

- EB CLOSURE AT 188

You can

listen to scanner traffic on the  Border Fire at:

Heartland: http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/6326/web

Rural: http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/9733/web

Phone landlines and cell service are both out in the Potrero area. 

The fire started around 11:30 this morning  in the vicinity of State Routes 94 and 188.

KNSD7 News was been at the scene earlier when the fire was 900 acres and caught dramatic video of the wildfire encroaching behind the historic general store at the heart of Potrero:  http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Firefighters-Battling-Small-Wildla.... They reported it was zero percent contained and burning near businesses and homes with temperatures approach120 degrees.

Photo, left, by Michele Little:  Helicopter drops water on Border Fire in the early hours of the blaze.

Sign up to receive free East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts via email at the top right side of our homepage and you can also receive a free weekly copy of  theEast County Magazine newsletter.  You can also follow EastCountyAlert on Twitter for brief texts on your mobile phone.  We recommend all of the above, since you can't know which form of communications will work best in a major regional emergency.

.