A fast-moving wildfire in Southern California leveled homes, injured a firefighter and forced evacuations Friday while tearing through rural neighborhoods outside San Diego amid a blistering heat wave.
The blaze erupted about 11:15 a.m. for unknown reasons in triple-digit temperatures, alongside eastbound Interstate 8 at West Willows Road in Alpine, according to Cleveland National Forest officials.
In the early afternoon, live television news footage showed large tile- roofed homes and what appeared to be residential trailers and small outbuildings engulfed in fire. Dozens of structures appeared to have been gutted.
At that point, the blaze had reached a "critical" rate of spread, Cal Fire said.
About 1:30 p.m., the California Highway Patrol closed two of the three lanes of eastbound I-8 in the area as crews worked to subdue the flames flaring next to the interstate.One firefighter has suffered minor burns to the side of his face while battling the blaze. He was hospitalized but will be released tomorrow.
By mid-afternoon, firefighters had yet to achieve any containment of the roughly 350-acre burn area of the blaze, dubbed the West Fire.
Deputies urged residents of Alpine Oaks Estates and areas south of the intersection of Alpine Boulevard and South Grade Road to clear out of their homes immediately, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
The American Red Cross set up an overnight evacuation site at Los Coches Creek Middle School and a temporary shelter was established in a parking lot at Viejas Casino. A local rodeo was providing room for livestock of residents in threatened neighborhoods.
Crews from various local agencies were attacking the blaze on the ground and aboard water- and retardant-dropping aircraft in midday heat measured by the National Weather Service at 108 degrees.
As the firefighting efforts continued, authorities closed various neighborhood streets in the area, including Alpine Boulevard between Tavern Road and West Willows Road; Arnold Way between Tavern Road and Alpine Boulevard; South Grade Road between Tavern Road and Alpine Boulevard; Tavern Road at Dehesa Road; and the Willow Road offramp from eastbound I-8, near the origin point of the blaze.
