Bell Valley Fire

BRUSH FIRE IN MEXICO REACHES CAMPO

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo credit: Audrua  A. Lou’Lou, taken at Campo Hills, below cut photo:  Bob Scheid

Update August 14, 2016 2 p.m. -  Fire is now 120 acres, all currently south of the Border,per Cal Fire, which has three engines monitoring the blaze.

Update 7 p.m.:  Cal Fire Captain Isaac Sanchez says the fire is now 60 acres. According to Capt. Sanchez it is entirely in Mexico, though several eyewitnesses have told  ECM it did cross the border earlier in at least one spot near Campo. Cal Fire describes the fire as south of Bell Valley near Potrero,burning southeast along the Mexican side of the border fence."

  Firefighters will remain at scene throughout the evening in order to ensure that it does not spread to the north.  Currently, CAL FIRE and San Diego County Fire have 12 engines, 4 water tenders and 4 hand crews (approximately 100 personnel) at scene. 

 

August 13, 2016 (Campo) – A fast-burning brush fire that started in Mexico has now crossed into the U.S. in Campo, multiple residents confirm.  The fire crossed the border fence about two miles west of the Campo store. 

“It is on both sides of the fence and they are pulling water from private ponds not Lake Morena,” says Karen Noblitt-McIntyre. Lake Morena has been drained to below 3% capacity by the City of San Diego.

Long-time residents of the area advise that the brush there has not burned in many years. Some are voluntarily evacuating near the border.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.