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August 21, 2010 (Lakeside) 9:05 p.m. --“Barring anything else happening it looks like it is contained for the night,” Chief August Ghio, head of the San Diego Fire Chiefs Association informed East County Magazine at 8:45 p.m. The fire which began in the El Monte Valley early this afternoon is more than 2,000 acres, but forward spread has been halted, he confirmed.
The U.S. Forest Service is taking over management of the fire, which is now burning in the Cleveland National Forest.
“A type two management team has been requested,” Ghio did not foresee any immediate danger of the blaze spreading to neighbor communities such as Ramona or Alpine, barring another major incident or high winds.
Two firefighters have suffered minor injuries, according to Cal-Fire spokesperson Roxanne Provaznik. No homes have burned, though some El Monte Valley residents were evacuated.
“All resources will be on the fire tonight: 25 engines, 8 hand crews, and one hoser,” Cal Fire’s Daryll Pina said. “There will not be any aircraft flying tonight because of the steep terrain canyons.” Winds are calm at present, he added, and the fire is 10% contained. “We’ll be going all night; it’s slow going. We’ll have a better estimate (on containment) in the morning.”
No structures have burned, though equipment at El Capitan did burn, he confirmed.
Cause of the fire remains under investigation, however Pena said there are no indications that the blaze was related to several other small fires earlier today in East County.
Comments
Thank you....
Thank you so much for keeping us residents in the East County updated on the El Monte fire.
A neighbor called after getting your Wildfire Alert. Throughout the day, ECM reported on the El Monte fire--- with information, pictures, stories, twitter posts, and even another email alert. Sadly, "official" emergency organizations who SHOULD have alerted us must have had better things to do on a Saturday. This was way too reminiscent of how East County fire updates were neglected by the mainstream media during the 2007 fires. Coverage focused on Rancho Bernardo while we stayed the week with relatives, friends, or in evacuation centers wondering what was happening to our homes and community.
Now one agency after another have offered their "fire safety" materials and programs: numbers to call and register your cellphone, websites to log onto for information. But today... when we needed information, there was almost nothing from official sources. Only ECM (thank you so much), CalFireNews (not even affiliated with CalFire), and amateur radio. The much-touted Twitter page of Rural Fire Protection District still has just one post... announcing last week's Grand Opening of the Jamul Fire Station.
So... kudos for your reporting, and heartfelt thanks for keeping us informed (while we organized our evacuation boxes.)
That you care about the East County is more than evident. You are a treasure.