Hundreds of families have returned home after four fires around the county sent firefighters scrambling Tuesday.
On the north coast of San Diego County, a 3,950-acre fire at the Marine Corps' Camp Pendleton was 60 percent contained. Most evacuation orders were lifted for residents of about 1,500 homes in neighboring Oceanside and many Marine Corps personnel and family members in military housing, but some remained in emergency shelters.
A separate small fire closed Interstate 5 through the base for two hours Tuesday before it was controlled.
In eastern San Diego County in Campo along the U.S.-Mexico border, a fire burned 200 acres and forced residents from 300 homes in the community of Campo before it was contained Tuesday night.
The outbreak of fires followed the weekend arrival of the first significant Santa Ana winds of the fall.
The notorious Santa Anas usually sweep in between October and February as cold, dry air descending over the Great Basin flows toward Southern California and squeezes through mountain passes and canyons.
