Brush fire burns near Fashion Valley Mall; evacuation orders lifted

A brush fire on a hillside across from Fashion Valley Mall in Mission Valley threatened structures on Tuesday and prompted evacuation orders.

The so-called Friars Fire was reported just after noon on the 7000 block of Friars Road, a densely populated area of Mission Valley that includes the popular shopping destination where Nordstrom is located.

The first crews arrived within six minutes, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue, whose spokesman, Jose Ysea, told NBC 7 later in the afternoon that the flames had charred 15-20 acres by the time firefighters had put it out.

Two people — one a resident and the other a firefighter — suffered minor injuries in the fire, according to Ysea, and both had been brought to the hospital for treatment.

Flames shown by SkyRanger 7 in the moments after the fire started were racing up a hillside toward the 7000 block of Camino Degrazia in a housing complex called Fashion Hills. The plume of smoke from the fire was visible from Interstate 15 at one point.

At least one apartment was damaged in the fire, and SDFD crews were working to contain its spread, according to Dan Eddy, SDFD assistant chief of emergency operations, who said crews were working to determine how the fire spread to the top of the building.

NBC 7

Nearly 100 firefighters with various agencies, including the city of Poway, responded with 15 fire engines, three brush rigs and three firefighting helicopters.

The Fashion Valley Mall was not impacted by the fire, according to management.

Amid the fire, San Diego Gas & Electric said they cut power to about 3,500 customers as part of their Public Safety Power Shutoffs. The shutoffs are issued amid fire weather that has the potential to down or blow trees and branches into powerlines. Across the county, there were about 16,750 customers without power.

The cause of the fire was not yet known but it sparked amid a red flag warning due to gusty winds and low humidity that had the potential to fuel wildfires. Two other fires sparked in North County San Diego and scorched nearly 100 acres combined before Cal Fire crews got a handle on both.

Evacuation orders

San Diego County's Office of Emergency Services initially sent out evacuation orders for the area north of Friars Road and east of SR-163, but by 1:15 p.m., both SDFD and San Diego police said there were no evacuation orders. The agencies later clarified the update meant no further residents would need to evacuate. By 2:15 p.m., all evacuation warnings were lifted and only those previously told to leave their homes were under orders.

Hours later, at 3:48 p.m., the county said that all evacuation warnings and orders had been lifted.

The original evacuation orders were colored in red below. Areas in yellow were under evacuation warnings that have since been lifted.

A temporary evacuation point was located at the Snapdragon West Parking Lot,  2101 Stadium Way, in San Diego, east of the fire.

SDPD urged residents to download the Genasys app to stay informed on evacuations.

Road closures

Friars Road west of SR-163 was closed for a mop-up of hot spots, San Diego Fire-Rescue said, and the California Highway Patrol said both off-ramps north and south from the freeway were shut down as well.

SDFD spokesman said at around 3 p.m. that he expected Friars Road to remain closed for at least four more hours.

Linda Vista Road to Genesse was also closed to through traffic, officials said.

The SR-163 NB and SB off-ramps to Friars Road have been closed due to a brush fire. pic.twitter.com/ee0RYtylqS

— Caltrans San Diego (@SDCaltrans) January 21, 2025

School evacuated

The San Diego County Office of Education's Linda Vista campus and Linda Vista Innovation Center were evacuated and closed for the rest of the day.

The fire has been stopped and the evacuation warning lifted. SDCOE Linda Vista locations will remain closed today and reopen for regular business hours tomorrow (Jan. 22). https://t.co/KGo0Ew4wq4

— San Diego County Office of Education (@SanDiegoCOE) January 21, 2025

This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.