WILDCAT FIRE BURNS A DOZEN ACRES IN RAMONA AT SITE OF RECENT TRAINING EXERCISE

Story and photos by Josh Stotler

Photo, left:SDG&E Helitanker 729 makes a water drop on the Wildcat fire as crews cut brush below.

Photo, right:Flames overtake vegetation and paintball barricades on the Barona reservation.

June 20, 2023 (Ramona) -- On a day that saw four vegetation fires in San Diego County, residents can rest assured that firefighters are ready and able to aggressively attack wildfires. 

At 4:06 p.m., calls came in to 911 dispatch reporting smoke in the area off Wildcat Canyon Road on the Barona reservation. Crews, most of which were coming off other fires, were sent to the area and confirmed a fire was making its way through the brush of a paintball park.

Crews set up quickly and were familiar with this exact area. Only two short months ago, this place was filled with firetrucks, hand crews and firefighting aircraft, not for a fire, but for the 2023 Multi-Agency Wildland  Preparedness Exercise—a three day real world simulation that played out nearly exact to the scenario fire crews faced today.

Moderate fuel levels and a quick attack by fire crews kept the #WildcatFire to only 12 acres.

No doubt knowledge of the area, terrain and hazards aided crews in quickly gaining the upper hand of this fire. Thankfully, light winds and moderate temperatures helped in keeping the fire to a slow rate of spread. The late rain and foggy morning conditions of late have also kept the vegetation from drying out. As summer arrives and temperatures climb, the vegetation will dry out and fire danger will climb.

Photo, right:Crews extinguish flames encroaching on a paintball park off Wildcat Canyon Road in Barona/Ramona.

Incident command directed hand crews, engines, dozers and aircraft with precision, quickly slowing the spread of fire keeping acreage burned to a minimum and allowing all evacuated residents to return to their houses, still standing.

Thankfully, a busy day for local firefighters turned out as well as can be expected, with no homes lost, no firefighter injuries and fires contained rather quickly. Let's hope San Diego's luck continues, but if not, we can all sleep soundly knowing we are well protected.

The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time.

Photo, left:San Diego Helitack Firefighter, Dakota Armstrong, and San Diego Sheriff Pilot Tony Webber prepare to lift off after the “Wildcat” fire.