By Miriam Raftery and Nadin Abbott

Photos by Daren Sefcik, Jeff Holz, and Delia Cooley

May 3, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Multiple fires along I-8 broke out this morning between East Willows Road and Japatul this morning, as ourViejasAlerts reported earlier.  The fires are believed to have been caused by a malfunctioning catalytic converter from a vehicle.

The largest forced closure of a viewpoint in Japatul and charred 12-14 acres. 

September 25, 2010 (Descanso) – A two-story structure, one vehicle and a boat were destroyed in a 2- to 5-acre brush fire in Descanso this afternoon. A second structure was saved thanks to efforts by firefighters, suffering 10% loss. One civilian suffered smoke exhaustion and two firefighters also suffered heat exhaustion, according to Cal-Fire.