June 20, 2023 (El Cajon) -- A brush fire burning between Interstate 8 and Murray Drive has charred several acres, threatening homes.  The fire began near Murray Drive and Dennstedt Place, El Cajon.

It is reportedly burning at a slow rate of spread, however some homes are threatened, based on scanner traffic.

CalTrans reports that three lanes of westbound I-8 are closed in the vicinity.

MTS announced that the Green Line trolley cannot travel between Amaya Drive and the El Cajon Transit Center, so a bus bridge will be implemented for riders.

By Miriam Raftery

May 17, 2019 (El Cajon) – Last night’s major fire at 920 El Cajon Blvd. in El Cajon was caused by an explosion at an illegal hash oil extraction lab which caused burn injuries to one victim. The explosion occurred less than two weeks after a hash oil lab exploded in Mira Mesa, seriously injuring three people.

By Miriam Raftery

February 16, 2019 (El Cajon) – Heartland Fire and Rescue crews extinguished a blaze Monday night in the garage of a home in the 1500 block of Condor Ave. in El Cajon.  Residents were reportedly doing laundry when they smelled smoke and found their garage on fire.

Firefighters cut open the garage door to access the flames and were able to douse the fire within 10 minutes, saving the residence where eight people reside.

Hear our interview  on KNSJ with Mandy Mattis, No One Left Behind, on the Shurish family, how you can help this local hero and other translators relocated here after risking their lives to help Amreican troops.

By Miriam Raftery

February 1, 2018 (El Cajon) – Targeted by the Taliban for helping the U.S. military as a translator in Afghanistan, Ahmed Shurish fled his homeland with his wife and children, leaving everything else behind.  They arrived here just seven months ago, building a new life in El Cajon.

But now his family has once against lost everything, this time in a fire in which Shurish heroically saved his neighbor’s baby from the flames. So the community is pulling together to help this hero and his family rebuild their lives yet again.

Photo credit:  Dave Nunes

October 24, 2016 (El Cajon) -- A SIG Alert has been issued for I-8 east due to a two-acre brush fire burning alongside the freeway just east of Greenfield in unincorporated El Cajon. The fire is burning uphill toward the Wal-Mart store, according to the CHP incident page.

ECM has a reporter en route to the scene; check back for details.

East County News Service

Photo by El Cajon Fire Marshal Chris Jensen

November 13, 2015 (El Cajon) –Heartland Fire & Rescue crews in El Cajon responded to reports of a structure fire this morning at 9:45 a.m. Upon arrival, firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the second floor of a single-family home at 1715 Eldon Court in El Cajon.

An electrical fire on New Year’s Eve morning destroyed a medical clinic in El Cajon.

Heartland Fire and Rescue along with Cal Fire responded to the blaze at 1321 East Main Street, at the corner of East Main and Melody Lane, at 8 a.m.  Crews found heavy smoke coming from the clinic.  The building was occupied, but fortunately those inside were able to escape and call 911. No injuries were reported. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photos  by Deborah Horger, , Jeff Holz. Rebecca Jefferis Williamson and Imed Fehri and Alexis Parmnnoff

Update October 7, 2013 --SDG&E advises that the suspected cause of the outage is a faulted capacitor station.  All power was restored by 1:30 p.m.; the outage began at 10 a.m. affecting 4,501 customers.

October 6, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- An SDG&E sky crane loaded with 2,500 gallons of water helped firefighters halt a brush fire in Lakeside at 28 acres. No structures were lost; mop-up activiites will continue through the night.  The blaze began shortly after power went out to more than 4,500 customers for reasons that SDG&E's website indicated were unkown at the time of the outage; power has been fully restored. 

Below are our earlier updates on this fire, which began at Aquilla Drive in Lakeside and sent smoke billowing forth that was visible across much of East County as well as Poway and San Diego.

September 26, 2013 (San Diego's East County) --Fires are burning off I-8 at Dunbar Lane in Alpine, Greenfield in El Cajon, and Los Coches Road behind Vons in the Lakeside/El Cajon area. The first blaze began about 5:30.  10 News has a live video http://www.10news.com/video/live_video. 

An eyewitness told 10 News that as she passed Greenfield, she saw a string of small flames popping up.  She said she got repeated busy signals trying to call 911.  

"Right now the total acreage is around 30 acres," Mike Mohler of Cal-Fire reported.  "Firefighters are making good progress but we still have a long way to go."  Homes are threatened and residents have been advised to leave some homes on Lotus Lane.  Mohler said authorities are investigating the possibility of arson, or a vehicle malfunction. 

August 18, 2013 (El Cajon) – At 11:51 p.m. Saturday night, Heartland Fire & Rescue crews in El Cajon, with assistance from Cal Fire, responded to reports of a fire in the 3-hundred block of Wisconsin Avenue. As fire crews arrived on scene, smoke was seen coming from apartment #3, at 314 Wisconsin Avenue. 

View video  of fire  and airdrop  by Adam Cameron.

Photos by Leslie O'Brien and Nancy Hauer

Update: Forward spread is halted; firefighters are expected to remain on scene through this evening.

May 12, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- A brush fire that began near the river bed at 13425 Old Highway 80 near Las Coches Road could reach 20 acres or more and is now burning mobile homes.   A female burn patient from a homeless camp that burned has been transported to a hospital.

Two strike teams and a helicopter have been ordered.  CHP is shutting down traffic on Las Coches.

December 21, 2012 (El Cajon) – A fire last night at 1281 North Second Street in El Cajon has displaced two residents, also resulting in smoke and water damage to a vacant commercial business downstairs.

Heartland Fire and Rescue crews responded to the blaze at 10:30 p.m. Upon finding three apartment units in flames, the fire was upgraded to a second alarm.  Heartland Fire & Rescue from El Cajon and La Mesa received assistance from the Santee and Lakeside Fire Departments, and the San Miguel Fire Protection District.  Firefighters contained the fire in about 35 minutes.

Update:  ECM news partner 10 News reports that this fire was started by El Cajon Police SWAT team conducting training exercises at a shooting range near Gillespie Field. 

Homes on Hacienda were threatened but did not burn, however one firefighter was transported to Grossmont Hospital in stable condition with a knee injury. 

Lt. M. Coit with El Cajon Police offered this statement.  "The smoke canister was deployed as part of an El Cajon Police Department SWAT Team training exercise.  The SWAT Team followed all safety precautions, however underestimated the weather conditions. The El Cajon SWAT Team is currently re-evaluating the safety procedures for the deploying of such devises.  The Heartland Fire Department will provide additional training to ensure that similar events do not occur. The El Cajon Police Department regrets any inconvenience to residents in the area."

Late night fire displaces 4 adults and 2 children

January 31, 2012 (El Cajon)—A Heartland Fire & Rescue crew from El Cajon responded to reports of a structure fire at a board and care facility at 1460 E. Lexington Avenue in El Cajon late last night. Fire crews arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the facility, with reports of a trapped victim.