An illegal campfire sparked an an aggressive first alarm vegetation fire in a Kensington canyon, San Diego Fire-Rescue (SDFD) officials said.
The fire broke out around 9:53 a.m. Wednesday between East Alder Drive and Fairmount Avenue when a driver called in the blaze.
A spokesperson for CalFire said the fire began as 20 to 30 feet wide but quickly spread to 40 to 50 feet wide. A helicopter then started dropping water on the fire, helping put it out. It took helicopter and ground crews 20 minutes to put out the fire.
Crews sprayed foam on the area to suppress the fire and quell hot spots, making sure the flames would not reignite.
The illegal campfire started off Fairmount Avenue and Talmadge Row. Firefighters accessed the fire through Fairmount Avenue, where police blocked off traffic on Fairmount Avenue as they worked.
Viewers nearby spotted smoke as the fire burned.
NBC 7 Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh said temperatures in the Kensington area are in the low 70s and there is little to no wind at three miles per hour. There is 30 percent humidity in the area, she said, which is dry but not critically dry.
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No further information was immediately available.
