Update January 11, 2021:  CHP indicates a Honda Civic crossed the double yellow lines, colliding with a Chrysler Pacific minivan.  A 74-year old San Diego woman, a passenger in the minivan, died at the scene.  The minivan’s driver, a 46-year old woman, suffered moderate injuries.  The Honda driver, a 30-year-old woman, suffered major injuries; she is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol but has not yet been charged, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Update 4 p.m.  Dehesa Road will likely be obstructed for two hours, ECM has learned. 

By Miriam Raftery

January 9, 2021 (El Cajon) -- A head -on collision is blocking Dehesa Road in unincorporated El Cajon in both directions, about 500 feet west of Sloan Canyon Road. 

Two patients has been transported to Sharp Memorial hospital. 

Edwin Mathery, an eyewitness who lives nearby, told ECM that one of the vehicles is a white minivan.  

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

January 4, 2022 (Alpine) – The driver of a blue Peterbuilt truck towing a double-axle flatbed Fontaine trailer was killed in an accident this afternoon on I-8 east of Dunbar Lane in Alpine.  All but one lane remains closed and a SIG Alert has been issued due to traffic delays of an hour or more.

According to Officer Travis Garrow with the California Highway Patrol, the as yet unidentified man applied the brakes and a load of steel sheet pile beams shifted forward, penetrating the back of the truck and impaling the driver.

East County News Service

Photo via Cal Fire Twitter feed

November 27, 2021 (Ramona) – The medical examiner has identified the woman found dead after a fire at her home as Deborah Ann Hester, 61.

Based on preliminary law enforcement investigation, on the early morning hours of November 15^th, Hester called 9-1-1 and requested emergency assistance due to a fire at her residence. San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at the decedent’s residence at 566 Telford Lane in Ramona and heard her screaming for help.

By Miriam Raftery

November 25, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – SDG&E has shut off power to 5,311 customers as of 10 a.m. Thanksgiving morning.  Another 47,934 are at risk of outages amid a red flag warning for extreme fire danger and high winds. 

So far, these are the communities without power:  Alpine, Boulevard, Descanso, Jamul, Pala, Pauma Valley, and Potrero as well as the Campo, Cuyapaipe, La Jolla, Pauma, and Viejas reservations.Many more areas are on a list of potential outages to come.

View an outage map and click on your community for estimated power restoration times:  https://www.sdge.com/residential/customer-service/outage-center/outage-map   Some areas are listed as likely to be without power until Saturday.

SDG&E has opened several community resource centers where residents can get water, ice, snacks, and preparedness supplies, car power inverters, solar-powered batteries, radios, and update on outages.  View map at https://www.sdge.com/resource-centers.

Update November 24, 2021:  SDG&E has widened its list of possible outage areas to include more than 53,000 customers. See the updated list of impacted communities here:  https://www.sdge.com/psps-dashboard

By Miriam Raftery

November 22, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) -- Before you stock up on turkey and other groceries for a feast, be aware that San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is asking customers in 38 local communities to prepare for potential Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Source: Cal Fire

Photo: CC via Bing

November 6, 2021 (San Diego) -- Effective Monday November 8th at 8 a.m., the burn permit suspension in San Diego County will be lifted. Cal Fire/San Diego County Fire Chief Tony Mecham is formally canceling the burn permit suspension and advises that those possessing current and valid agricultural and residential burn permits can now resume burning on permissible burn days from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Bystander recounts efforts to help rescue survivors from burning home

By Miriam Raftery and Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

Nadin and Tom Abbott also contributed to this report.

Photo, left: Screenshot off video by ECM news partner 10 News

October 11, 2021 (Santee) – A plane has crashed near Santana High School close to the intersection of Greencastle and Jeremy, setting homes nearby on fire.

Two fatalities are confirmed and two others have been transported to a hospital with injuries. 

A temporary evacuation point has been set up at the Cameron Family YMCA at 10123 Riverwalk Drive, Santee, for families displaced by the crash.

Santana High tweeted that all students are safe and a secure campus order has been lifted.Students are being allowed to leave if they have no afternoon classes.

An ECM reporter witnessed body parts on roofs and scattered across the neighborhood, adding to the trauma facing residents.

Stephanie Diaz, another neighbor, says the crash occurred at 12:12. "It was just like in the movies," she said of the sound, adding that the whole house shook. 

David Witthoft said he used to work on military jets as a mechanic. He said he was in the house when "I heard the pilot go full throttle, and then I heard it hit the ground" with a loud boom. His house filled with smoke and the stench of burning debris, he added.

Numerous homes in the area suffered damage ranging from blown-out windows to cracked solar panels, in addition to two homes destroyed by fire.

Hillcreek Elementary also alerted parents/ guardians that they were "safe and sound."

San Diego Sheriff asks that the public avoid the area. A Hazmat team has been dispatched.

There are reports of a box truck also damaged by the crash.

By Miriam Raftery, East County Magazine

October 7, 2021 (Proctor Valley) – A San Diego Superior Court judge today ordered the County of San Diego to vacate its 2019 approval of portions of the Otay Ranch Village 14 and Planning Areas 16/19 in Proctor Valley south of Jamul near Chula Vista, due to the danger of wildfires in an area that has already had many severe fires.

Judge Richard S. Whitney found that the County’s environmental impact report failed to assess the increase wildfire risk, nor offer any mitigation to reduce those increased risks if the controversial master-planned community were built. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta intervened on behalf of the people of California to support a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging the project.  Bonta praised the decision, stating, “Today’s ruling by the Superior Court affirms a critical fact: Local governments have a responsibility to address wildfire risks associated with development projects at the front end. Doing so will save dollars—and lives—down the line.”

By Miriam Raftery

September 18, 2021 (Sequoia National Park) – Two wildfires, the Colony and Paradise fires, have merged into one dubbed the KNP Complex Fire. Estimated at 18,000 acres, the blaze has been burning for a week inside Sequoia National Park and has now reached the edge of a historic grove of ancient giant redwoods. 

By Miriam Raftery

Image: Powerlines, creative commons image via Bing

September 6, 2021 (San Diego) -- San Diego County Supervisors held a hearing on August 31^st on public safety power shutoffs. Chairman Nathan Fletcher emphasized the importance of this “timely issue” in light of wildfire concerns.

CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department
@CALFIRERRU
****Effective immediately, for all future updates on acreage, containment and Evacuation Orders and Warnings, go to -
@CALFIRESANDIEGO
*****
Update August 29, 2021 9 a.m.:  The #ChaparralFire hsa grown to 1,450 acres and is 10% contained.  A firefighter was injured and two structures have burned.

CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department reports:

#ChaparralFire Evening Update 8/28/22 9:10 PM - Fire remains 1,200 acres and 0% contained. All Evacuation ORDERS:WARNINGS remain in place overnight & until further notice. Final update tonight unless significant activity occurs.

By Miriam Raftery

August 24, 2021 (San Diego) – A rapid warming trend is forecast to bring elevated fire weather conditions Wednesday through Saturday. The National Weather Service warns, “Wildfires could spread rapidly with high heat and low humidity. Diurnal winds in the afternoon present the highest threat.” Dry fuels add to the danger.

East County News Service

Video by Richard Edwords, Alpine resident and owner of Camp’s Propane, who is driving a water tender truck in the Dixie Fire

August 20, 2021 (Sacramento) -- Today more than 12,460 firefighters continue to battle 14 large wildfires across the state, Cal Fire reports. Yesterday firefighters responded to 27 new wildfires, all of which were quickly contained. Since January 1, there have been 6,630 wildfires that have burned more than 1.4 million acres.