Most evacuations were lifted by Wednesday afternoon after crews got a handle on a fire that caused thousands of people to flee their homes and businesses in Rancho Bernardo that morning.
As of about 12:30 p.m., the area just west of Interstate 15 and just south of Camino del Norte remained under evacuation orders. All other residents were allowed to return home, and some roads remained closed.
San Diego Fire-Rescue officials ordered a massive response after the blaze in the area of Bernardo Center Drive and Camino del Norte was first discovered, and they initially worried it could reach 100 acres. Scores of firefighters headed to the site, helicopters made water drops and several air tankers dropped fire retardant.
By midmorning, the air tankers were released. An assistant chief said the fire was holding at around 7 acres, and he was hopeful residents could return to their homes by the afternoon. The region is under a red-flag warning with bone-dry conditions, but winds were fairly light.
Evacuations had been ordered for neighborhoods just west of Interstate 15 and south of Camino de Norte. The evacuation area had stretched west to Peñasquitos Drive and Dove Canyon Drive, and a temporary evacuation point had been set up at Carmel Mountain Plaza, at 12080 Carmel Mountain Road.
Rolling Hills Elementary School students were evacuated to Poway High School; details of reunification were being sent directly to families, and the Poway Unified School District said families should check email for more information. RB Kinder Care was also evacuated.
Areas just to the west of that were under an evacuation warning. Some residents were asked to shelter in place.
Other schools in the area said students were being kept indoors. “We understand this is distressing and we want to assure you that we are closely monitoring the situation,” Poway Unified told parents in an email notifying them of the fire.
The northbound and southbound off-ramps at Camino del Norte were closed for the fire response, Caltrans said on X.
Although many people were allowed to go home, the following streets remained closed, according to San Diego police:
- Camino Del Norte at Interstate 15
- Bernardo Center and Camino Del Norte
- Paseo Montanoso at Avenida De Los Lobos and Camino Del Norte
One person was taken to a hospital to be treated for burn injures. Ysea said the person had sustained mild to moderate injuries and was taken to UC San Diego Burn Center.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but arson investigators will be working to try to determine what sparked the blaze, Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy told 10 News.
Eddy told 10 News that the Fire Department brought in heavy resources to knock the fire down as quickly as possible.
“The amount of resources we are bringing in on these fires right now, whether it be air resources or ground resources … is ensuring this is staying at seven acres,” he said. “We were expecting a potential of 20 acres or more. To hold it at seven shows the cooperation with all of these agencies working together.”
With the area under a red-weather warning, Eddy said he remained concerned about the winds picking up in the afternoon. He said fire crews are working to cool the fire down before winds shift around 2 to 3 p.m.
“Our hope is to get people back home in the next couple hours,” he said. “If we can cool everything down by then then everybody will get back in a little bit sooner.”
The Bernardo fire is one of a string of blazes that firefighters have battled in recent days, due to a series of Santa Ana winds that have blown through San Diego County.
A lack of rain and high-wind conditions have combined to raise the risk of downed power lines igniting a potential wildfire, which has prompted San Diego Gas & Electric to shut off electricity in specific areas.
As of 10 a.m., nearly 13,000 SDG&E customers were without power across the county, and the utility had warned that another 71,000 may see their electricity cut if conditions worsen.
A red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service remains in effect through 8 p.m. Thursday for the inland valley and mountain communities in the county.
Staff writers Rob Nikolewski, Jemma Stephenson and Karen Kucher contributed to this report.
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