East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Update 5:40 p.m.  -- Forward rate of spread has been stopped at 2 acres with bo damage to any structure. Firefighters will no continue to put out hotspots and strengthen control lines. Cal Fire praises homeowners for having defensible space, which helped save their residences.

June 4, 2024 (Potrero, CA) -- The #RanchFire has burned two acres after starting this afternoon in the 1000 block of Harris Ranch Road in Potrero's Bell Valley.  The fire is burning at a moderate rate of spread and has potential for 40 acres, per Cal Fire.

Structures are threatened, but firefighters are making good progress, according to the incident commander.

By Mike Allen

Photos courtesy of Santee Fire Department

May 23, 2024 (Santee)-- A fire that sent large plumes of smoke across East County yesterday was caused when workers at the Advanced Water Purification (AWP) project in Santee were joining together two large pieces of plastic pipe.

Santee Fire Chief Justin Matsushita said while workers were fusing two large pipes that are 42 inches in diameter, the plastic material, called HDPE, caught fire and quickly overwhelmed the workers, prompting their 911 call.

Update May 14, 2024:  This fire has been extinguished after charring 18 acres and destroying the home where it started.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

May 13, 2024 (Alpine)-- Cal Fire is responding to a brush fire, #Love21C, south of Loveland Reservoir in Alpine. The fire has burned 15 acres and is spreading at a moderate rate of speed, with potential for 100 acres, according to Cal Fire.  

The fire  started at  1900 Sloane Canyon Rd. and Loveland Reservoir and is zero percent contained, per the Watch Duty Ap.

East County News Service

May 9, 2024 (San Diego) – Governor Gavin Newsom has declared May 5-11 as “Wildfire Preparedness Week.”  Noting the increasingly challenging wildfire seasons due to climate change, Newsom says his administration has made historic investments to increase forest management and decrease catastrophic wildfire risks, such as buying state-of-the-art firefighting equipment and technology.

Now he’s asking all Californians to take steps to protect their properties by creating defensible space around homes, hardening homes, developing wildfire action plans and teaming up to join Fire Safe Councils and Firewise Communities, which work to regularly assess wildfire risk and prioritize actions to address those risks.

“All of us have an essential role in protecting ourselves, loved ones, and communities from wildfire,” the Governor says. “During Wildfire Preparedness Week, I encourage all Californians to visit ReadyForWildfire.org to learn about steps we can take to prepare for wildfire season and help prevent loss of life and property. Together, we can create a more fire resilient California.”  Find tips at https://readyforwildfire.org/.

To stay ready for a wildfire or natural disaster at any time, the California Fire Foundation has just relaunched its Firefighters on Your Side community preparedness program at FirefightersOnYourSide.org to help Californians prepare their homes with defensible space, make a 5-minute evacuation plan, pre-pack essentials, and print a master checklist. . 

MAY 1, 2024 (Santee) --“There’s not much we won’t do to protect our family, friends, and neighbors in Santee,” Santee firefighters say in a social media post promoting the launch of a new calendar to support the Protect Santee ballot measure.

People who like shirtless firefighters are invited to join the calendar launch party at Deano’s Pub East in Santee (11541 Woodside Ave., Suite D) on Thursday, May 2 from 6 – 9 p.m.. In addition to some good food and cold beer, attendees can get a calendar and an autograph from Santee’s homegrown hotshots.

But there’s a catch.

As the last days of the Protect Santee signature gathering come to a close, Santee residents will be asked if they can put their autographs on a petition of their own.

Alpine Fire Protection District invites public to event April 4

Source:  San Diego Regional Fire Foundation

Photo, left: Alpine Fire Protection District's new wood chipper

April 3, 2024 (San Diego) – The San Diego Regional Fire Foundation and the San Diego River Conservancy are pleased to announce $378,958 in funding for 13 Fire Safe Councils in the Conservancy’s watershed area and a new chipper for the Alpine Fire Protection District. 

Alpine Fire Station will host an event April 4 from 11:30 to 1 p.m.  Alpine Fire Protection District will talk about its new chipper that will provide services for free chipping to the communities and will discuss the new fuel break funds that were made possible through a Community Protection grant.  The attendees at the event tomorrow will be  able to be part of the overall collaboration between the San Diego River Conservancy and the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation.saying thankyou for the hard work and commitments we all have made to focus on supporting the communities of Alpine and Viejas. 

.The San Diego River Conservancy is pleased to announce that it has awarded a grant to the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation and Fire Safe Councils in San Diego County. These Fire Safe Councils are remarkable organizations that work diligently to make local communities safer by engaging in activities aimed at reducing the risk and intensity of wildfires, said Julia Richards, Executive Officer, San Diego River Conservancy. Their efforts are truly commendable and deserve to be recognized year after year.  We proudly stand behind the Fire Safe Councils and support their vital work.” 

East County News Service

March 16, 2024 (San Diego) -- The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to extend the Emergency Temporary Lodging Program.

Source: Department of Environmental Health and Quality

March 10, 2024 (San Diego) -- The County is looking to understand how we can improve services to the community during disasters. To learn more about the specific challenges communities are facing during these disasters, we are hosting online webinars open to the community as well as a survey to learn more and hear directly from the public. This information will be used to develop policy recommendations to the County Board of Supervisors about what actions the County should take to help better serve the public before, during, and after disasters. For more information and to take the survey and register for webinars please go to: https://engage.sandiegocounty.gov/regional-disaster-management

East County News SErvice

March 2, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has two local disaster recovery centers that are open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Residents who had damage from the floods that occurred January 21-23 can visit the centers or register online for federal disaster relief to help pay for repairs, temporary housing and property losses,  as well as business loans, now through April 19.

The federal aid comes after President Joe Biden issued a federal disaster declaration for our regionl.

The centers are located at the Spring Valley County Library (836 Kempton St, Spring Valley) and at the Mountain View Community Center (651  South Boundary St., San Diego).

By Miriam Raftery

February 21, 2024 (Santee) – The Santee Firefighters Association (SFA) is sponsoring the “Protect Santee” ballot initiative aimed at improving fire protection. The city’s fire department resources have not kept pace with growth in the community, a problem so severe that firefighters and emergency medical first responders are not able to meet national safety response time standards, multiple reports confirm.

“With just 17 on-call firefighters and two outdated fire stations, the fire department’s response times are often DOUBLE the crucial 4-minute National Fire Safety Response Standard, as AP Triton reported in its 2023 Santee Community Risk Assessment,” a press release from  the SFA states.

The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) was hired by the SFA to provide a report on the fire department’s capabilities. It found that most fire engines are staffed by  three firefighters, not the minimum of four required by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Moreover, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that two firefighters cannot enter a burning building or other dangerous situation unless at least two more fighters are outside. So Santee’s three-person crews must wait until another crew arrives before they can enter a burning home, for example.

The study also found most area roads are not currently served  within the safe time frames outlined in the report.  “As such, it results in an increased risk of death or injury to firefighters and the citizens of Santee, as well as increased risk for considerable property loss of housing units and businesses throughout the City,” the report concludes.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

February 18, 2024 (San Diego) – The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for  San Diego County’s mountains, valleys, and coasts,  as well as portions of Orange, Riverside,  San Bernadino ,Los Angeles and Oxnard counties. The watch is in effect tonight through Wednesday morning due to a Pacific storm moving into our region expected to bring up to 1.5 inches of rain locally.

A low pressure system from the north is forecast to bring widespread showers and isolated thunderstorms, with moderate to heavy rains capable of flooding in urban and low-lying areas.