A one-acre fire scorched brush along a canyon in El Cajon Saturday afternoon, looming close to homes in the area.
Heartland Fire & Rescue said the blaze began at 2:45 p.m. in a canyon near the 500 block of Tyrone Street. Fire officials said heavy, dry brush in the canyon quickly fueled the flames quickly.
“As we moved into our brush fire mode, it took us about 10 minutes to get folks surrounded and in the right positions to attack the fire,” El Cajon Interim Fire Chief, Greg Mcalpine, told NBC 7. “Control of the fire was about 10 minutes later after the initial attack.”
Engines from various agencies, including the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, and Santee and La Mesa fire departments, rushed to the neighborhood. Aircraft made drops on the fast-moving flames.
#BREAKING: #SD Fire putting out a brush fire that was threatening homes near Tyrone St in #ElCajon pic.twitter.com/gRZ16uMn4a
— Ashley Matthews (@ashleyNBC7) October 8, 2016
“For a time we did have the fire creeping up and around homes in the canyon area. We had assistance from our partners in the area including CAL FIRE, San Diego, Santee, in addition to the helicopters,” Mcalpine said.
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Crews still on scene after brush fire in #ElCajon. Check out how close it got to nearby homes. #NBC7 pic.twitter.com/LkTeZO7SXm
— Ashley Matthews (@ashleyNBC7) October 9, 2016
One resident went door-to-door around the neighborhood to make sure everyone got out of their homes safely.
Nidhal Talia said one of her neighbors came by to warn her husband of the fire.
Neighbors using hoses to help put out brush fire near Tyrone St in #ElCajon. #NBC7 pic.twitter.com/nlN3ZaBcme
— Ashley Matthews (@ashleyNBC7) October 8, 2016
“The doorbell was ringing so hard and a woman was knocking on the window screaming get out, get out, there's a fire in the canyon!” Talia said. "He was home sleeping and he just heard the sirens and he was so surprised, the dogs started barking like crazy. The doorbell was ringing so hard and a woman knocking on the window."
Within 10 minutes, firefighters had a handle on the blaze and were putting out hot spots. Residents helped, too, grabbing hoses from their yards to drench the scorched earth. Small flames lingered but soon, those were also knocked out.
The canyon is surrounded by homes, so crews launched a heavy, swift response to ensure those properties weren't destroyed.
And, though the fire came close to homes, there was no damage to surrounding properties, officials said. No one was injured.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Local
The fire sparked as San Diego County endured a hot, dry weekend. Earlier this week, Santa Ana conditions were forecasted and a fire weather watch was issued by the National Weather Service, but that advisory was later cancelled. Still, NBC 7's Whitney Southwick said Friday the county was in for very hot temperatures and dry conditions, also known to fuel October wildfires in San Diego.
This was the second brush fire reported Saturday. In the morning, another fire burned one acre of vegetation near Valley Center.
