College Area brush fire sparks near homeless encampment in palm-filled canyon: San Diego Fire

A brush fire that started near a homeless encampment in the College Area Thursday afternoon quickly prompted evacuations and road closures as firefighters worked to protect homes from flames.

The brush fire sparked around 1:30 p.m. on the south side of Montezuma Road — an area filled with old, dry palm trees, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesperson Monica Munoz — and quickly jumped the road and began spreading uphill.

About 16,000 people were warned to evacuate, according to authorities. Six homes were burned.

San Diego Fire-Rescue on Friday said investigators believe the fire started in or very near a homeless encampment, but the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Firefighters with multiple agencies quickly responded as the blaze sent a plume of smoke over the College Area and across San Diego. Several air firefighting resources arrived at the scene and were making retardant drops to prevent flames from spreading further.

"It looks like a war zone over here," said one resident who was evacuating on foot along Montezuma Road. "I've never seen anything like this before. From SDSU, I could see the very dark smoke and I could see some of the flames, but I didn't realize how catastrophic it was."

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By 2:45 p.m., the blaze was 37 acres and evacuations were underway, although firefighters seemed to be gaining an upper hand on the battle.

"I feel like we've got a handle on it," Munoz said around 3:15 p.m. "Now I can't tell you exactly when it's going to be out, but I do feel confident." 

The main areas of concern for firefighters were the Talmadge area and Alvarado Estates, Munoz said. Both neighborhoods sit atop hills, and fires have a tendency to move quickly up hillsides.

SDFD said six homes were damaged by flames. No injuries were reported.

As of Friday evening, the Fairmont Fire was 80% contained, up from 25% the evening before.

"Only six [homes damaged] for 37 acres in an area surrounded by homes here in the middle of San Diego," SDFD Battalion Chief Craig Newell said. "That's amazing."

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria echoed that sentiment Thursday night.

"I'm deeply grateful to the City of San Diego's firefighters, helicopter pilots and police officers who responded to today's brush fire, as well as the other local agencies who are aiding us in this emergency," Gloria said in a statement, in part. "The efforts from all involved have been nothing short of courageous and heroic, and I couldn't be prouder of all our first responders."

Crews remained on the scene overnight and through Friday morning with fresh crews arriving periodically to provide relief.

Evacuations

San Diego police were evacuating homes near the canyon along Montezuma Road, which was shut down in both directions.

An evacuation point was also set up at the Allied Gardens Recreation Center (5155 Greenbrier Ave, San Diego, 92120).

All evacuation orders were lifted by 9 p.m. The latest evacuation updates can be found here.

Hardy Elementary School at 5420 Montezuma Rd. was also under evacuation. Students were being taken to Viejas Arena and parents headed to pick up their children were asked to avoid College Avenue.

Shortly after the blaze erupted, SDPD said they were going door-to-door along Lucille, Lila and 49th streets warning people who need to leave.

A resident who was not evacuated and lives across the street on Lucille told NBC 7 he saw the fire coming through.

"Folks know what to do here because this is an ever-present danger," the resident said. "They knew to go next door, get their neighbors out. We have a number of elderly people here, a lot of pets, so we got the elderly folks out, we got the pets out, moved them to a safe area."

Ian Gibson has one of the best views of the canyon from his deck.

“It was shocking when I came around the corner here, and I saw just completely scorched out," the evacuee said. "Living here on the canyon, you are constantly in fear of fire, of this happening one day, and today was the day."

Munoz said anyone who feels uncomfortable — whether under mandatory evacuation or not — should not hesitate to go to the Allied Gardens Recreation Center evacuation point.

Animals were welcomed at the evacuation center as well. The San Diego Humane Society said it had provided assistance to 15 pets so far.

Road closures

Several roads have been closed in the area, and officials are urging people to avoid the area.

Road closures include:

• Montezuma Road between Collwood Blvd. and Fairmount Avenue
• Fairmount and Aldine Drive
• Montezuma and 55th

Fire officials said at 6:45 p.m. that motorists should expect Montezuma Road to remain closed all night while firefighters worked in the area.

San Diego State University told students there was no threat to the campus or their community but traffic delays should be expected. Evacuation orders may be affecting the surrounding areas but were not affecting the campus, which was still open and holding classes, the university said.

"Road closures near campus are expected to be in place until midnight," the university said in a statement on Thursday afternoon. "Roads impacted are Aldine Drive at Fairmount Avenue, Fairmount Avenue at Montezuma Road and Montezuma Road at 55th Street."

Traffic was particularly heavy along Interstate 8, which prompted a SigAlert for eastbound lanes.

The MTS said several bus routes were affected by the fire, including Routes 11, 13, 14 and 955.

How did the fire start?

SDPD told NBC 7 that the fire was believed to have started in a palm tree but the cause was not yet known.

The fire started shortly after another blaze in Spring Valley earlier in the afternoon that prompted some evacuations.

Resources from several different agencies responded to help with the firefight, including the fire departments of Lakeside, Santee, Miramar and Cal Fire.

"This is what we do, we help each other out," Munoz said. "In this county, we have a tremendous relationship among our fire agencies. We never have a concern that someone else will not be able to help us."

How is the weather affecting the fire?

NBC 7 Meteorologist Francella Perez said the fire was creating its own wind particularly because the fire was climbing up a canyon.

Wind speeds were in firefighters' favor with speeds of only about 5 mph and there were no Santa Ana winds to contend with, Perez said. But humidity was very low in the 20 to 30th percentile.

Munoz said that although wind speeds were low, it was changing directions quickly, which made the firefight challenging.