Smoke and flames could be seen for miles from a fast-moving two-acre brush fire in Chollas Creek that burned dangerously close to homes Sunday. The fire spread through a canyon near 54th Street between Chollas Parkway and Streamview Drive around 5:24 p.m. in the afternoon.
Twenty-three homes were evacuated, but fire crews were able to contain the fire quickly and all evacuations have been lifted. A helicopter was brought in to help keep the flames from spreading.
The flames came so close to Ricardo Mirada’s home that he grabbed his garden hose.
“When we came out flames like we thought ‘okay, we gotta get out. We're gonna lose our home,” he told NBC 7. “My heart is going crazy.”
Mirada has lived in his house for more than two decades, and this is his second close call with a fire in the canyon. “That one time it got all the way to the houses, this roof got burned and the whole canyon was gone,” he said.
Fire crews are investigating the cause of the fire.
Crews are expected to remain at the scene for a while cleaning up, and Chollas Parkway near 54th Street will be closed for several hours.
Local
No homes were destroyed in the fire, and no injuries have been reported.
