Many evacuation orders lifted in San Diego area

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — Firefighters scoured charred hillsides north of San Diego yesterday to guard against a resurgence of flames that ripped through the region, while the last of tens of thousands of evacuees prepared to return home.

For those battling a series of blazes for days, the relief was mixed with a sense of dread that drought-sapped vegetation, high temperatures and low humidity portend a long fire season ahead.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has responded to more than 1,500 fires this year, compared with about 800 during an average year.

“Normally, I don’t even put wildfire gear in my vehicle until the end of April. This year, I never took it out,” Kirk Kushen, battalion chief of the Kern County Fire Department, said at a base camp in

Relief was mixed with a sense of dread that difficult conditions portend a long fire season in California.

Escondido. “We never really completed the 2013 fire season. It’s been a continuation.”

At least 10 fires spanning 39 square miles have chewed a destructive path through San Diego County since Tuesday, destroying 11 houses, an 18-unit apartment complex and two businesses. A badly burned body was found in a transient camp, and one firefighter suffered heat exhaustion.

The first blaze was caused by a spark from construction equipment, state officials said, but it could take months to get to the bottom of the mostdamaging fires.

Alberto Serrato, 57, pleaded not guilty on Friday to an arson charge in connection with one of the smaller fires, but authorities say they don’t think he started it, just added brush to it.

Ocean breezes and lower temperatures helped firefighters yesterday as they focused on a 1,000-acre blaze on the Camp Pendleton Marine base and a 4-square-mile blaze that started in the suburb of San Marcos.

Firefighters doused remaining hot spots with hoses and water-filled backpacks.

Kushen, who was working his 10th straight day and was nearly 27 hours into his shift as his team prepared to go rest at a hotel, said he saw between 15 and 20 destroyed houses or other structures in the hills in and around San Marcos.

Many evacuation orders have been lifted, including some yesterday, but it was unclear when all evacuees would be allowed to return home, said Kendal Bortisser, a spokesman for the forestry and fire protection department.