FIRE CLOSES IN ON SAN DIEGO.
FALLBROOK, CALIF. • Flames engulfed retirement communities built on golf courses, thoroughbreds in racehorse stables and other usually serene sites as the San Diego area became the latest front in California’s wildfire fight.
The fire broke out Thursday amid dry, windy conditions that would be extreme for any season but are especially stunning just two weeks from winter.
It grew to 16 square kilometres in a matter of hours and burned dozens of houses as flames 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 85 buildings were destroyed, authorities said. Out of 10,000 people who fled homes, about 900 were in shelters.
Trees were charred for kilometres along a winding highway in the community of Bonsall and some houses lay in ruins on a road not far off. At one home, a goose and a rooster remained, the latter crowing repeatedly Friday.
Authorities said 1,000 firefighters battled the flames with help from a fleet of air tankers and helicopters. Significant resources also were being deployed to stamp out a new, small fire that began to the east in the Cleveland National Forest near the mountain town of Alpine.
Meanwhile, firefighters northwest of Los Angeles gained some control over the largest and most destructive fire in the state, which has destroyed 430 buildings. The blaze in Ventura County has grown to 533 square kilometres since igniting Monday.
Fire crews also made enough progress against other large fires around LA to lift most evacuation orders.
The fire 80 kilometres north of San Diego razed rows of trailer homes in the retirement community, leaving charred and mangled metal in its wake. It wasn’t immediately known what sparked the blaze next to State Highway 76, but strong winds carried it across six lanes to the other side.
As the flames approached the elite San Luis Rey Downs training facility for thoroughbreds, many of the more than 450 horses were cut loose to prevent them from being trapped in their stables, said Mac McBride of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
Herds of horses galloped past flaming palm trees in their chaotic escape of a normally idyllic place. Horse trainer Scott Hansen said he knows that some of his 30 horses at the facility died.
Inland, the biggest fire burned in mountains near the town of Fillmore, but only outlying areas were evacuated.