Two brush fires that started early Tuesday morning along the I-15 Freeway in northern San Diego County are being contained by firefighters.
According to the Cal Fire/San Diego County Fire Department, the first, known as the Pala Fire, was reported at approximately 12:30 a.m. close to the intersection of I-15 and SR-76.
In a post on Xa just before 1 a.m., firemen stated, “The fire is about 5 acres in size with a rapid rate of spread and structures threatened.” Crews reported that it had expanded to 30 acres an hour later, but that the rate of spread had decreased. Later, in a post on X, the North County Fire Protection District stated that its “forward rate of speed” had been halted.
For SDC-0147, some evacuation orders were issued.
A second fire was recorded at a different post about half an hour later. That one was in the Bonsall region, closer to Old Highway 395 and Lilac Road, further south on I-15.
Cal Fire reported that the fire, which has been called the Lilac Fire, was roughly 30 acres in size, burning at a moderate rate, and posing a threat to other structures.
Due to the second fire, residents of the SDC-0235, SDC-0236, SDC-0288, and SDC-0289 zones are affected by the evacuation orders that have been issued. You may find more details here. A number of other residential zones were also subject to warnings.
In Escondido, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department set up an evacuation reception center at the Castle Creek Country Club, located at 8797 Circle R Drive.
Although the source of the fires is yet unknown, the National Weather Service says that the high winds and unusually dry weather have exacerbated the risk of fire, which is why most of Southern California is still under red flag warnings.