As CAL FIRE positions resources and staff, residents are urged to prepare too

Source:  CAL FIRE

January 7, 2025 (Sacramento) - In response to a forecast of critical fire weather conditions, CAL FIRE has increased firefighter staffing and pre-positioned resources throughout Southern California. The National Weather Service predicts strong offshore winds, low humidity, and high fire risk from Tuesday through Thursday. 

By Miriam Raftery

December 17, 2024 (San Diego) – Joan Jones, Vice Chair and Executive Director of the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation, has been named Mid-Size Nonprofit Executive of the Year by the San Diego Business Journal.

According to the Journal, Jones has raised $10 million for the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation, with a grant success rate of nearly 100%, helping to reach the Foundation’s goal to make San Diego the safest county in the nation.

Through new partnerships, the Foundation has significantly expanded support of regional fire departments and fire safe councils, providing valuable protection to residents across our region.In addition, the Foundation provided a grant to support East County Magazine's Wildfire and Emergency Alerts, helping to keep people safe and informed during emergencies across our region.  In 2024, the Foundation's grant funds also provided:

December 10, 2024 (Alpine) --  California Highway Patrol has closed Interstate 8 eastbound, east of East Willows Road in Alpine is currently closed due to multiple overturned big rigs caused by high winds. There is no estimated time for re-opening. Expect significant delays and avoid the area if possible.

View video: https://x.com/i/status/1866556789279559868 

By Miriam Raftery, East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

December 9, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – With a red flag warning in effect from the National Weather Service due to high fire danger today through Friday, SDG&E has begun public safety power shutoffs affecting 8,949 customers in Alpine, Boulevard, Campo, Descanso, Jacumba and Jamul. There are also unplanned outages in Julian and Borrego Springs. However, up to 108,619 more customers may face planned power outages between now and December 13 at noon, according to SDG&E, including most East County communities.

Communities at risk of outages in San Diego County include the Barona reservation, Borrego Springs, the Campo reservation, Capitan Grande reservation, Cardiff, Chula Vista, Del Mar, El Cajon, Encinitas, Escondido, Fallbrook, Granite Hills, Jamul Indian Village, Julian, La Jolla Reservation, Lakeside, La Mesa, La Posta reservation, Lakeside, Los Coyotes Reservation, Manzanita reservation, Mesa Grande reservation, Pala,

Pala reservation, Pauma Valley, Pauma reservation, Poway, Ramona, Ranchita, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Santa Fe, Rincon reservation, San Diego, San Marcos, San Pasqual Reservation, Santa Ysabel, Santa Ysabel reservation, Santee, Solana Beach, Sycuan  reservation, Valley Center, Viejas Reservation, and Warner Springs.

Community Resource Centers are open in many communities.  For a list of community resource centers, see https://www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard.

By Miriam Raftery

December 2, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – Cal Fire investigators have arrested a serial arsonist accused of setting nine fires across East County between Nov. 10 and Nov. 30.

Allen Dinoyo, a transient resident of San Diego, will be charged with multiple felonies. He is accused of starting vegetation fires on Nov.10 in Jamul, followed by six fires on Nov. 20 in Rancho San Diego, Jamul, and Dehesa, as well as two more fires on Nov.30 in San Diego and La Mesa.

Source: CalFire

November 21, 2024 (San Diego's East County) - - The CAL FIRE San Diego Unit is preparing to conduct prescribed burns across San Diego and Imperial Counties as part of an ongoing effort to reduce wildfire risk, enhance ecosystem health, and protect community safety. These projects are planned during carefully selected weather conditions that meet specific safety and ecological parameters.  A controlled burn is being conducted today in the Campo area.

Each prescribed burn project undergoes a comprehensive review to ensure it meets the criteria for environmental benefit, appropriate weather, smoke management, and fire safety. Once a project is approved, trained CAL FIRE personnel will conduct the burns under strict guidelines.

By Miriam Raftery

November 16, 2024 (San Diego) – By a unanimous vote, San Diego County Supervisors on Oct. 22 authorized the San Diego County Fire Authority to provide a dedicated staffer to assist homeowners with applications to the  Wildfire Prepared Home program.

The program, provided through the Insurance Institute for Business & Home and Safety (IBHS), offers a discount on insurance premiums to homeowners who apply and meet fire safety requirements. To apply, homeowners must pay an application fee of $125 and pass an inspection. Now, County Fire officials can also visit homes to help homeowners assure that they have met the wildfire mitigation requirements.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alert Service

November 5, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – SDG&E warns that high fire risk weather conditions amid a red flag warning may result in public safety power shutoffs to prevent fires starting Wed. Nov. 6 at 4 a.m. through Friday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m.  Communities at risk of power shutoffs are listed below and include 24, 740 customers, or input your address here: https://www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard

Photo:  view from City Heights.  Photo credit:  Martin Eder

Update 6:45 p.m.-- The #Fairmountfire is 25% contained. Six homes have been damaged. Montezuma Rd will remain closed all night for apparatus access. There are no injuries from the brush fire; a shooting near the SDSU trolley is unrelated to the fire.

Update 4:30 p.m.-- The fire is now called #Fairmount Fire and is 37 acres.  Temporary evacuation point is at Allied Gardens Recreation Center.

Update 2:39 p.m.- Hardy Elementary School is being evacuated; students are being taken to Viejas Arena at SDSU, per SDFD. Parents can use Canyon Crest to access the arena; avoid CollegeAve.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Photo via UCSD HP web cam, view from Mt. Miguel of #MontezumaFire.

October 31, 2024 (San Diego) -- Evacuations are underway in the SDSU college area due to the #MontezumaFire, which has burned 10-15 acres n both sides of Montezuma east of Fairmont.

Evacuations are in progress along Lila Drive, Collwood Way, Lucille Drive, 49th St. and neighborhoods along Yerba Santa Dr., per Watch Duty. Deputies are going door to door. Structures are threatened; fire is burning at a critical rate of spread, per the Watch Duty App.

Cal Fire reports Montezuma Road is closed in both directions and Aldine is also shut down.

Photo, right, by Carey Thoza.

Don't get burned! Safety tips to prepare for wildfires

By Miriam Raftery

Hear full interview

September 30, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – Cal Fire Captain and Public Information Officer Mike Cornette, in an interview aired on the East County Magazine Radio Show on KNSJ, offered an outlook on peak wildfire season, information on new Zone Zero defensible space requirements around homes, as well as tips to prepare for wildfires and keep your household safe.

On the fall outlook for wildfires,  he notes that fire season is now year-round. “We’ve seen large fires anywhere from January to December in every different part of the state, every different part of the county.” Now that peak fire season approaches, there is heavy grass from last winter’s heavy rains, “so we’re still expecting potential for large wildland fires through December.”

Recent major fires in Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and San Bernadino Counties should be a "wakeup call" for residents across California to be prepared for wildfires by creating defensible space around homes and being ready to evacuated if needed.

Captain Cornette urges people to maintain defensible space from 0 to 100 feet around your home—thinning fuels in the morning, with high humidity and lower temperatures,  “to make it more survivable.”

By Miriam Raftery

View dramatic rescue by a Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire battalion chief of a woman walking through flames in Airport Fire

September 13, 2024 (San Diego) –Firefighters have reached significant containment levels on two of the three major wildfires still burning across four Southern California counties. In addition, an arsonist has been arrested in connection with the devastating Line Fire in San Bernadino County. The federal government has approved resources to help fight all three large Southern California fires.

Click the links below for Cal Fire’s full updates, maps and current evacuation details.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Update 5:15 p.m.-- Forward spread has been halted at 65 acres and evacuation orders have been lifted. 

September 7, 2024 (Campo) -- Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for a brush fire burning at Church Road south of the Golden Acorn Casino near Old Hwy 80. The #ChurchFire has potential for 1,000 acres; it has burned 65 acres so far, per Cal Fire.

View an updated evacuation map here:  Genasys Protect  A temporary evacuation center is at the Golden Acorn Casino,1800 Golden Acorn Way in Campo.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Update September 7, 2024: The fire has been extinguished. All evacuation orders have been lifted.

Update September 6, 2024:  The Escondido Union School District closed multilpe schools today.  Businesses in the area remained closed and evacuation orders continue. According to SDG&E, lithium ion battery storage fires must burn themselves out.

September 5, 2024 (Escondido) -- Evacuations have been ordered and road closures are in effect in Escondido, just west of I-15 and south of state route 78, due to a fire at a battery storage facility. Such fires have the potential to release toxic fumes.  Enterprise Street is closed between Mission Road and Auto Park Way.

There is an immediate threat to life, so residents are urged to leave immediately. The area is closed for the public to enter. View map of evacuation zones.

Evacuees should go to Pala Casino, or to Pueblo Bank and Trust Company, 11154 Highway 76,Pala,CA.

Photo via CalFire: Border 47 fire was started by migrants, possibly seeking rescue in a remote location near the border, according to Cal Fire.  The blaze charred 50 acres. 

August 13, 2024 (San Diego) – The vast majority of California’s wildfires are caused by humans, as Cal Matters recently reported. Vehicles and lawn equipment are the most common culprits in accidental fires, while a few have natural causes from lightning. 

But along the international border, campfires lit by migrants and fires set by smugglers have sparked numerous recent blazes -- also igniting public safety concerns.

After a surge in border fires in May, Amy Reichert, chairwoman of Restore San Diego, obtained public records from CalFire from May 1 through June 1. .Reichert claimed that  of the eight fires along the border May 1-June 1, seven were tied to illegal border crossers, with one of undetermined cause, since it started in Mexico. 

ECM fact-checked that claim and found it largely accurate, with migrant fires the most likely cause of six fires, shooting the most likely cause in one fire despite a campfire nearby, and the Mexico fire of undetermined cause.