Firefighters are battling a brush fire near Torrey Pines State Beach on Friday afternoon.
The 1-acre blaze was reported just before 2:30 p.m. and was burning along southbound Torrey Pines Road before heading uphill into the Torrey Pines State Park, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Footage from SkyRanger 7 showed the flames sending a thick cloud of white smoke into the sky above the coastal San Diego neighborhood and fire crews making water drops.
By 4 p.m., the forward rate of spread had stopped, SDFD Battalion Chief Erik Windsor said. No structures were threatened, and crews were expected to stay at the scene to cut a line around the blaze and mop up, fire officials said.
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SDFD, along with the San Diego Police Department and park rangers, were working to make sure everyone had been evacuated from the park.
"While there's no more fire threat, there's still a lot of smoke in the air. A lot of people are hiking, and we don't want them to be overcome with smoke," Windsor said.
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Windsor added that the fire could have been a lot worse with different weather conditions.
"We are very lucky that we did have a nice cooldown with the weather starting today. If it had been last week or maybe next week, this fire could have been a lot bigger," he said.
The fire department had nearly four dozen firefighters responding along with four fire engines, three helicopters and two brush rigs. Firefighters with the cities of Poway and Encinitas were also responding, SDFD said.
It is not clear what started the fire.
This is a developing story that will be updated as more information arrives.
