San Diego

Third Firefighter Injured Battling Lilac Fire

A firefighter tending to the Lilac Fire at a large ranch in Bonsall was injured Friday evening when a tree fell on him.

An unidentified Cal Fire crew member was pulled out of the Ocean Breeze Ranch on West Lilac Road on a stretcher at about 6:30 p.m. Friday after a tree fell on him, according to the Cal Fire Public Information Officer.

The extent of the firefighter's injuries was not made available. 

Crews were in the Bonsall area tending to the 4,100-acre Lilac Fire that sparked the previous day, tearing through communities near the intersection of Interstate 15 and state Route 76, before spreading to the west.

Two other firefighters have been injured battling the blaze. One suffered from smoke inhalation and another had a dislocated shoulder. 

The Ocean Breeze Ranch is located on the outskirts of Bonsall, a woodsy back area full of communities known for their farms and ranches. 

Animals have been killed in the two-day firefight and dozens of homes have burned to the ground.

Two horse trainers were seriously burned trying to save horses from stables in the area Thursday morning. 

The fire was 15 percent contained Friday evening, but it continued to threaten approximately 1,500 structures.

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