Fast-moving blaze engulfs semi-rural San Diego area

Retirement communities built on golf courses, thoroughbreds in race horse stables and other usually serene sites were engulfed by flames as the San Diego area became the latest front in California’s wildfire fight.

The fire broke out Thursday amid dry, hot, windy conditions across the region that would be extreme for any season, but are especially stunning just two weeks from winter.

It exceeded 16 square kilometres in a matter of hours and burned dozens of houses as it tore through the tightly packed Rancho Monserate Country Club community in the small city of Fallbrook, known for its avocado orchards and horse ranches.

Three people were burned while escaping the flames and at least 65 structures were destroyed, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Trees were charred for miles along winding State Route 76 in the community of Bonsall and some houses lay in ruins on a road not far off the highway. At one home, a goose and a rooster remained, the latter crowing repeatedly Friday.

The fire remained uncontained although the winds subsided significantly overnight. Forecasters said they would return later in the day but would be less widespread.

The fire was on the eastern border of the Marine Corps’ vast Camp Pendleton.

Meanwhile, firefighters in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, gained 10 per cent containment of the largest and most destructive fire in the state, which has destroyed 430 buildings. The so-called Thomas Fire has grown to 533 sq. kilometres.