Will they or won't they be allowed into their homes? People living on and around Camp Pendleton are getting mixed messages about returning home after fleeing the Juliet Fire.
Oceanside police announced that evacuation orders had been lifted, but military officials would not confirm that. About 1,000 homes were threatened by the wildfire, which broke out Monday afternoon near the Vandegrift Gate around 3:30 p.m. Another 500 homes sitting on the border with the Marine base were also given mandatory evacuations. Just after 10 p.m., San Diego County sheriff's deputies sent out a Reverse 911 ordering mandatory evacuations for another 200 homes.
Around 11 a.m., a spokeswoman for the City of Oceanside said some residents were allowed to briefly return to some neighborhoods near the base to collect pets and personnel items. Spokeswoman Jane McVey says the evacuation order, though, is not expected to be lifted until some time Tuesday afternoon. Marine Cpl. Priscilla Vitale says evacuations remain in effect for the 2,000 military personnel and family members ordered to vacate base housing. She says the fire has scorched more than 3,000 acres and was about 25 percent contained.
Vitale said the fire that has scorched more than 3,000 acres was about 25 percent contained Tuesday.
Oceanside Police Sgt. Kelan Poorman said fire crews and helicopters Tuesday morning were still fighting flames. On the base, Marine Cpl. Priscilla Vitale says the fire that has scorched more than 3,000 acres was about 25 percent contained Tuesday.
Marine officials said Tuesday that the cause of the fire was unknown, but they did stress that "no live fire or incendiary training was being conducted in the training area" when the blaze began. The actual cause has not identified.
The San Luis Rey Gate was closed, as was the section of Vandegrift Blvd. from the San Luis Rey Gate to Rattlesnake Canyon Road. There was no word when the San Luis Gate would be reopened. No structures on base damaged. A few greenhouses off base had been damaged or destroyed.
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All animals from stables had been accounted for. Officials also credited the use of Super Scoopers -- the second time in one week the planes had been used on a major wildfire on the base.
An evacuation center was set up at El Camino High School located at 400 Rancho del Oro Drive
