CREWS STOP SPREAD OF FIRE AT PALOMAR COLLEGE
Burning vegetation caused evacuation warnings briefly
An aggressive response by fire crews stopped the spread of a fast-moving vegetation fire in San Marcos on Thursday afternoon, after it charred 40 acres and kicked up a huge plume of smoke that could be seen for miles.
The fire was first reported around 1 p.m. in brush on the grounds of Palomar College and had reached 40 acres by 1:45 p.m. It ran up a hill to the east, but within a half-hour crews had stopped the growth and quelled the threat to nearby homes. Evacuation warnings were issued in the areas from Las Posas Road to the east of the campus, Twin Oaks Valley Road to the west, Mission Road to the north, and Borden Road to the south of campus. A temporary evacuation point was set up in three Cal State San Marcos parking lots.
The evacuation warning was lifted around 3 p.m. The fire started in the vegetation near the large dome, an iconic image visible from off campus, a fire official said.
“Right now it’s medium fuels and a fast rate of spread,” Fire Marshal Jason Nailon said as crews attacked the blaze. There were no classes meeting on campus, Nailon said. He added there had been a report of homeless people in the area when the fire was spotted. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Several fire agencies were helping battle the fire, including crews from neighboring Vista and Escondido. According to SoCal Air Operations, at least four airtankers and two helicopters were assigned to the incident. According to a tweet from the San Diego office of the National Weather Service, winds were relatively light in the area, the humidity was less than 20 percent and temperatures were in the high 80s. “Elevated fire weather conditions will continue through the day,” the agency said in the tweet.