SDSO advising residents of Parc One to shelter in place

East County News Service

Photo credit: Google and in-house

July 19, 2021 (Santee) -- The initial response to the Parc Fire (also appearing in some places spelled Park Fire) in Santee appears to have been successful, and poses little danger to neighbors. Parc One residents are being asked to shelter in place.

SD County Fire Scanner broke news of the fire and its early containment on twitter at approximately 2:20 p.m. this afternoon July 19, and and the fire is (almost) out before it even started. They report that firefighting crews expect to be "mopping up" over the next 2-3 hours.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Photo, left, by Felicia Vlahos

Update 8 p.m.:  The fire scorched 36 acres. All evacuation orders have been lifted.  An investigation continues into the cause of this fire.

December 16, 2020 (Santee) -- The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has issued an emergency evacuation warning to residents in the 10,000 block of Chaparral Dr. in Santee due to the Chaparral Fire. An evacuation warning means that evacuations are currently voluntary, however, everyone should be prepared to evacuate if an evacuation order is issued. Residents who choose to evacuate can go to Santana High School, located at 9915 N Magnolia Ave, Santee, CA 92071.

The Sheriff advises, "If you feel unsafe, evacuate early."If you need emergency assistance with evacuation, call 9-1-1.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Rebecca Jefferis-Williamson

June 3, 2020 (Santee) -- A brush fire is burning near State Routes 125, 52, and Mission Gorge Road.  A SIG Alert has been issued. The ramp from eastbound 52 to 125 is closed, Cal Trans and the CHP site report.  ECM reporter Rebecca Jefferis-Williamson reports that the Mission Gorge offramp from 125 is also blocked.  Avoid this area.

*** Update: all ramps have reopened.

East County News Service

June 26, 2018 (Santee) -- Cal Fire reports that a drone forced grounding of a firefighting helicopter today in Santee while ground crews fought a fire that began late this afternoon on Prospect Ave. near Highway 52 and Cuyamaca.

The blaze briefly caused evacuations, 10 News reports.  The fire has now been contained, according to the Sheriff's Department.

By Miriam Raftery

November 18, 2017 (Rancho San Diego)--San Miguel Fire District along with Heartland Fire Rescue and Santee Fire Department will be conducting fire and rescue training this weekend at Vahalla High School, located at 1725 Hillsdale Road in the Rancho San Diego area of unincorporated El Cajon.

The fire rescue drill will be Saturday November 18 and Sunday November 19 from 9am to 3pm.  Smoke machines will be used during training - neighbors might see smoke coming from the school during these training events.

April 4, 2015 (San Diego's East County) -- A small brush fire is burning near Grossmont College. Firefighters are at the scene at the junction of 125 and 52, just below the community college campus.

Largest blaze in Santee chars 5 acres

By Nadin Abbott

Photo, left, by Jeff Holz

April 29, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)-- The day started with smoke in the far East County, near Jacumba on Old Highway 80. Cal Fire responded only to find a structure fire on the other side of the border fence. Per the incident commander, the structure was fully involved and crews remained on scene to make sure it did not pose a threat. Since the house had good clearance, there was no threat to vegetation, or the United States.

The second fire was in Ramona. It was a compost fire at Dye Street south of Ramona Street. It was extinguished in short order.

The third and most serious was near the Carlton Hills Golf Course in Santee.  A parking lot at Carlton Hills Southern Baptist Church became the Incident Command Post for the blaze, which briefly threatened apartments nearby.

By Nadin Abbott

Photo:  Firefighters battle spot fire in Lakeside; photo by Jeff Holz

May 26, 2013 (San Diego East County)—Fire season is off to an early start. Yesterday, even as firefighters fought to contain the 1800-acre San Felipe fire in the mountains of East County, four new fires drew resources from across the region.  Here is a wrap-up on those fires in Ramona, Lakeside, the Santee/San Diego boundary area, Dulzura, and the border region.

July 12, 2011 (Santee)--The Santee Fire Department along with units from Lakeside and La Mesa responded to the report of a residential structure fire at 9117 Fonteyn Ct. in Santee this afternoon. The first fire unit arrived just over eightminutes after the time of dispatch; 19 firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control and restricted the damage to the garage area.

March 2, 2011 (Santee) – After an extensive nationwide search, Santee City Manager Keith Till has named Robert E. Leigh as the city’s new fire chief. Leigh is currently a deputy fire chief for the city of Aurora, Colorado, the state’s third largest city and a community of 314,000 east of Denver.
 

Filthy conditions lead Animal Control to take custody of animals
 

December 31, 2010 (Santee) – Firefighters responded to a house fire this morning in the 9600 block of Halberns Blvd., where they discovered at least a dozen cats living in filthy conditions inside. According to ECM news partner 10 News, Animal Control officers took the cats for veterinary evaluation, include two which were ill from the smoke.

Story by Peter Diehl

Photo by Scott Bolle

November 3, 2010 (Santee)-- Fire crews from Santee, Lakeside, and El Cajon were dispatched at 12 noon today to the vicinity of Hartley Rd and Stevens Rd in Santee. Upon arrival, active smoke and fire was seen at Advanced Electromagnetics Incorporated (AEMI) at 9311 Stevens Rd.  Fire crews initiated a “fast attack” and the fire was quickly extinguished, but the smoldering contents turned out to be highly toxic materials.

Update 5:20 p.m. The fire is now out and was contained to less than an acre. Firefighters are mopping up hot spots, according to Santee Fire's Brett Eldridge.  Cause is believed to be accidental, possibly from a bulldozer scraping rocks, he added.  

September 2, 2010 (Santee) 4:40 p.m. – A brush fire has broken out at the Sycamore Landfill in Santee at 8514 Mast Boulevard. “So far I’ve seen Santee, El Cajon, and La Mesa Fire roll down my street,” said Mark Schoonover, who shot the photo above.

August 21, 2010  12:50 p.m. (Santee) - A fire in the vicinity of Prospect in Santee briefly threatened homes, ECM learned from our fire spotter in the field. Firefighters brought the blaze under control within minutes and aerial support requests have been cancelled.

Update 3:15 p.m.  The fire has jumped to 259 acres, Viejas Fire Chief Don Butz has informed ECM. "It's in a very inaccessible area," said Butz, adding that the forward spread of the fire has been slowed.

June 26, 2010 (Santee) - A vegetation fire that began late this morning north of Santee is now approximately 70 acres in size, according to Heartland Fire dispatch.  The fire is burning westward into federal property in the adjacent Miramar area.

The blaze is not yet contained, however the forward spread of the fire is slowing, Heartland informed East County Magazine. Currently there are 100 firefighting personnel, five hand crews and three helicopters battling the blaze. Fixed wing aircraft have been released.