ADDITIONAL AIR POWER DISPATCHED TO REGION AS FIRES BURN THROUGH NIGHT

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Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 news

By Miriam Raftery

May 15, 2014 (San Diego)--Fires have scorched over 9,200 acres since yesterday, with several still burning.  A large DC-10 air tanker, 17 helicopters and military aircraft are en route to our region, where hot, dry temperatures and Santa Ana winds have prompted extension of the red flag alert for high fire danger to be extended through tonight. 

Nearly 600 people stayed in evacuation centers overnight from the San Marcos and  Carlsbad fires.  More than 125,000 residences countywide received evacuation calls through the County’s Alert San Diego system. The County Emergency website has received over 1 million visits in the past three days.  Most area schools are closed today countywide due to the wildfires.

In North County, three major facilities are impacted.  Kaiser Permanente medical offices on Craven Road in San Marcos are closed;  Palomar Medical Center and Palomar Health Downtown campus on Valley Parkway have announced cancellation of elected surgeries, 10 News reports.

Below are updates on each major fire:

The Cocos Fire in San Marcos:  This firestorm has burned 700 acres and is still zero percent contained, said Cal Fire Captain Kendal Bortisser.  Three structures are confirmed lost and another is damaged. “The fire is still very active and continues to move to the south,” Bortisser said.  This fire has clogged traffic. Motorists are urged to avoid these roads and use alternate routes, said Sarah Gordon, County Communications Officer,

• South Twin Oaks Valley Road at Hwy 78

• Craven Road at Twin Oaks Valley Road

• Village Drive at Twin Oaks Valley Road

• San Elijo Road at Double Peak Road

• Melrose Drive at Rancho Santa Fe Road

• Melrose Drive at San Elijo Road

• San Elijo Road at Rancho Santa Fe Road

• Elfin Forest Road at Calistoga Way

• Questhaven Road at City Limit

• Coronado Hills Drive at Via Del Campo

• Fallsview Road at San Elijo Road



Rancho Santa Fe Road will be opened to both north and southbound traffic at approximately 6 a.m., the city says. Information from City of San Marcos Twitter.

The Poinsettia Fire in Carlsbad has swelled to over 800 acres, with 5 percent containment. It has also snarled traffic.  The following roads are closed, said Tammy Glenn, County Communications Officer:  Eight single-family homes, a multi-family structure and a commercial building have been destroyed.

  • Aviara Parkway from Ambrosia Lane to El Camino Real
  • El Camino Real from Alga Road to Palomar Airport Road
  • Camino Vida Roble between Palomar Airport Road and El Camino Real
  • Poinsettia Lane from Black Rail Road to El Camino Real
  • Palomar Oaks Way

For additional updates about the City of Carlsbad, visit www.carlsbadca.gov.

Pendleton Fire:  This fire has burned more than 6,000 acres, largest in the region, and is now 20 percent contained at the Naval Weapons Station Fallbrook. A second fire scorched over 24 acres near I-5, forcing full freeway closure for several hours yesterday. 

Lakeside Fire:  This fire was extinguished late yesterday after burning 17 acres and forcing 1,300 evacuations, which have been lifted and all roads reopened.

Highway Fire:  Evacuations have been lifted in this wildfire in norther San Diego County, where yesterday I-15 near State Route 76 was closed after the fire jumped the highway, threatening homes.

Bernardo Fire:  This fire, which resulted in evacuation calls to 5,500 residences, is now 75 percent contained.

Oceanside Fire: Approximately 50 acres burned in the San Luis Rey River bed, damaging one structure. This fire was 20 percent contained as of last night. 

Resources are available to all residents who may need recovery information through the County’s recovery website at sdcountyrecovery.com.

Thousands of residents were without power, including some from intentional shut-offs by SDG&E seeking to protect itself from liability by preventing lines from catching fire during high winds. For the latest information on outages, check SDG&E’s outage map.

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

Residents who have evacuated with large animals can take them to Cloverdale Ranch, 2460 Cloverdale Road, in Escondido.  Two other shelters for large animals closed after receiving no animals, according to the County.

Residents impacted by the fires who need help with their animals should call the County Department of Animal Services emergency line at 619-236-2341.

 

 


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Comments

Area fires

Your local supervisor Jacob is obviously unfamiliar with the need to shut down the power system in these areas when they are in a fire storm situation. Maybe some time spent with the power company is in order for this person to better understand the issue. His remark was a poor choice.

when?

no date