FIRES CAUSE MAJOR DAMAGES ACROSS NORTH COUNTY

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Facebook/Camp Pendleton Scout

May 15, 2014 (San Diego) 1 a.m. – Wildfires have scorched 9,196 acres, the County Emergency Services Department has announced. Alert San Diego has sent 121,878  notices to residents to evacuate or prepare to evacuate.

Several major fires continue to burn in north San Diego County tonight and several structures have been lost.  Below are updates on each of these incidents.

The largest of these is the Tomahawk Fire, which has burned 6,000 acres and forced evacuation of military housing on Camp Pendleton and the Naval Weapons Station at Fallbrook.  This fire forced closure of I-5 earlier today. A second fire on Camp Pendleton burned 30 acres.

The Highway Fire in Deer Springs has burned 600 acres and is 5 percent contained. Evacuations have been lifted for this fire.

The Cocos Fire in San Marcos has burned 500 acres with no containment, forcing evacuation of over 21,000 people and cancellation of graduation ceremonies at California State University San Marcos.  Five structures have been destroyed and two more were damaged. This incident is under unified command with CAL FIRE, San Marcos Fire Department and Elfin Forest Fire.  Evacuation orders are still in effect for over 600 residents.

The Bernardo Fire in San Diego and Rancho Santa Fe has burned 1,548 acres with 50 percent containment.  This fire is under unified command with CAL FIRE, San Diego Fire Rescue and Rancho Santa Fe Fire Department.

The Poinsettia Fire has caused $18.5 million worth of damages, the City of Carlsbad estimates, including loss of an 18-unit multi-family housing unit, eight single-family homes and a commercial building.  An estimated 400 acres have burned. For an update on evacuations, visit www.carlsbadca.gov.

The River Fire in Oceanside burned 100 acres, while a fire in Lakeside in East County late today charred 17 acres before it was contained.  In addition, a small fire in Escondido burned one acre.

If you need emergency assistance in evacuation, call 9-1-1.

Residents are urged to call 2-1-1 for all non-emergency calls and visit www.sdcountyemergency.com for updates online.

Shelters for large animals and livestock are listed on the County of San Diego emergency website. Contact the County’s Department of Animal Services dispatch line at (619) 236-2341 for additional animal evacuation and shelter information.