brush fire Old Highway 80

VIEJAS WILDFIRE ALERT: MAJOR BRUSH FIRE CLOSES HIGHWAYS, EVACUATIONS ORDERED IN CLEVELAND NATIONAL FOREST

 

 

Photo: View from Lyons Peak, looking east; WREN camera courtesy USCD

Update 3:35 p.m.:  The fire is north of 8 and is now estimated between 75-100 acres and is 5% containued; evacuations have been lifted.  The  I-8 freeway is open; a hard closure is still in effect on Sunrise and Old 80 and Kitchen Creek area. SDG&E has shut  power lines down due to fire burning close to the lines, so Mt. Laguna has no power right now. Powerlink is no longer considered threatened, per Wende Cornelius, USFS.

Update 2:55 p.m.:  "We are evacuating Kitchen Creek and Cibbetts Flat in Cleveland National Forest," Wende Cornelius with CNF has informed ECM. Hikers and campers in the area are urged to leave. The fire is now 100 acres and due to high winds, some fixed wing aircraft have been temporarily grounded though helicopters continue doing water drops.

Sunrise Powerlink could be threatened, Cornelius stated, so be prepaerd for possible power outages.  SDG&E is en route. 

March 8,2014 (San Diego’s East County) – A brush fire on Sunrise Highway and Old Highway 80 has charred over 75 acres, IPN reports and aerial resources are on the scene, with a strike team positioningi in Pine Valley. Interstate is shut down from the Sunrise Highway exit to Buckman Springs, CHP reports. There is also a closure at Highway 79 just south of Lodge.

The fire is in the Cleveland National Forest and has been named the Gun Fire, due to its proximity to a shooting range.  As of 2 p.m. there is a large header of smoke visible across East County.

IPN reported an earlier fire at State Routes 944 and 188 (Tecate Road). Multiple resources were dispatched to the fire which was estimated to have a potential of ten acres per the incident commander.


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