Update 12:46 p.m. per CAL FIRE San Diego County Fire: #GroveFire [update] the fire is now 900 acres and 10% contained. The cause has been determined to be lightning. Read the latest in Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association.

Update 8:38 a.m. 7/25 from Sekhar Padmanabhan a Staff Reporter on Watch Duty app: Evacuation order downgraded to a warning for zone SDC-0075. Fire holding at 816 acres.

Photo, right by Chet Kalinowski

Update 7:42 p.m. 7/24 from Liam Winstead: "FIRIS has mapped the fire at 816 acres. The permineter can be viewed by toggling on the Active Fire Perimeters layer on the Watch Duty map. Note that perimeters are preliminary and do not reflect any structure protection efforts by firefighters on the ground."

07/24/2024 07:14 PM PDT

Large Animal Shelter Opened at Ramona High School for Grove Fire

Per the San Diego Sheriff Department, residents impacted by the Grove Fire EVACUATION ORDERS with large animals can go to Ramona High School located at 1401 Hanson Lane, Ramona, CA 92065.

For those under an EVACUATION WARNING, always take into consideration that large animals take extra time to evacuate. It's best to leave now or prepare early so you are ready to go.

Follow @SDSheriff and @CALFIRESANDIEGO for updates.

For an interactive map with updated emergency information, visit: OES Emergency Map

Update 5 p.m.  Evacuation orders have been issued in the #Grove Fire, which is now 400 acres with potential for 2,000,  Find map and evacuation details at https://www.alertsandiego.org.  Evacuation center is at Warner Springs High.

Update: 4 p.m. the #GroveFire is now at 250-300 acres

Update: 3 p.m. the #GroveFire is now at 50 acres

By Jonathan Goetz and Miriam Raftery

Photos courtesy: Watch Duty app, San Diego Sheriff and East County Magazine

July 24, 2024 (Sunshine Summit) -- CAL-Fire is at scene of a vegetation #GroveFire in the area of Dodge Valley in the community of Sunshine Summit. The fire is 15 acres with a moderate rate of spread. Additional resources have been ordered, per CAL-Fire on X.

By Jessyka Heredia

Watch full video here

July 20, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – An angry crowd of residents confronted Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe during a community forum in Lemon Grove Thursday night, most opposed to a homeless sleeping cabin project voted on by Supervisors before the community’s voices were heard. The meeting had to be moved to the recreation center’s gymnasium to accommodate the overflow turnout.

Just two days earlier, Supervisors voted 4-0 to move forward on the project, with Chair Nora Vargas absent. The forum, held after the vote, left many residents feeling lied to. as they had believed Thursday's forum was a chance for the community to be heard. The crowd was loud and passionate.

By Jessyka Heredia

July 17, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – Residents of Lemon Grove were told there would be a community forum tomorrow  to discuss the possibility of bringing 70 sleeping cabins to Lemon Grove to house homeless people. But County Supervisors voted 4-0 yesterday (with Nora Vargas absent) to move forward on the project just two days before the community forum, leaving residents to wonder if their input ever mattered.

The project was to be built with a $10 million dollar grant from the state originally slated for 150 sleeping cabins in Spring Valley, but that project was cancelled after objections from neighbors over proximity to homes and sensitive sites. Vargas said she “heard the concerns of the community” and backed instead building a smaller-scale project in Lemon Grove near the Spring Valley boundary.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Scott Lagace

July 17, 2024 (Santee) – Santee firefighters rescued an unconscious woman from a mobile home engulfed in flames this afternoon, also saving numerous cats, though one cat perished.

Crews were  dispatched at 12:07 p.m. to the fire at Hawaiian Village Mobile Home Park, Unit 84 on Buena Vista Avenue in Santee,  arriving five minutes later. Occupants outside reported a potential victim still inside, so fire crews started extinguishing the flames and entered the residence, where they found the unconscious woman.

By Miriam Raftery

July 16, 2024 (Jamul)—The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs heard impassioned testimony on July 11 from  Jamul tribal chairwoman Erica Pinto, speaking in favor of S. 3857,the Jamul Indian Land Transfer Act authored by California Senator Alex Padilla. The measure would place in trust four land parcels totaling 172 acres into the Jamul Indian Village reservation, lands that the tribal chairwoman says are needed for tribal members' housing, reuniiting a scattered community, protecting cultural resources, and providing services for tribal members,such as healthcare and education.

The bill is identical to H.R. 6443, Rep. Darrell Issa’s bill which has already passed the House of Representatives.

But the measures have drawn opposition from the Jamul-Dulzura Community Planning Group, which was not consulted about the measures and was not allowed to present testimony at the July 11 hearing. THE JDCPG Chair sent a letter to the Committee on Indian Affairs Chairman and the authors of both bills outlining the planning group's concerns including whether commercial development could occur, as well as objections over the land transfer process bypassing local input.