Fire in San Diego’s Otay Mountain area explodes to 4,250 acres; evacuation orders, warnings issued

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San Diego -- Authorities issued evacuation orders and warnings to nearby areas early Friday morning as a wildfire in the Otay Wilderness Area grew to approximately 4,250 acres through rugged terrain overnight. Firefighters managed to contain about 10% of the spread.

The evacuation area for the Border 2 fire covers a large area that extends north to Otay Lakes Road, east to State Route 94 and Dulzura, and west to Lower Otay Lake, and includes the Otay Open Space Preserve.

State Route 94 was shut down at Otay Lakes Road early on Friday morning. Road closures have been implemented at Alta Road near Otay Mesa Road and Otay Lakes Road, as well as on Wueste Road to Pio Pico Campground, which has been placed under an evacuation order.

The area to be evacuated is neighborhoods west of the lake and the Olympic Training Center.

Due to safety and air quality concerns from the fire, the Chula Vista Elementary School District closed the following schools on Friday: "Salt Creek, Camarena, Wolf Canyon, Olympic View, Liberty, Eastlake, Marshall, and Arroyo Vista." All other schools will operate as usual.

San Diego County Office of Education announced on Friday that schools in the Mountain Empire Unified and Warner Unified school districts will be closed on Friday.

Sheriff's officials announced that the designated temporary evacuation point is located at Regal Edwards Cinemas Rancho San Diego, which is situated at 2951 Jamacha Road in El Cajon. Residents living south and west of the lake can head to Southwestern College as an evacuation site, found at 900 Otay Lakes Road in Chula Vista.

"We are witnessing some extremely intense fire behavior right now," said Cal Fire Captain Robert Johnson shortly after 4 a.m.

“The main fire is spreading mainly to the north, but it's also spreading in different directions as well.”

He stated the fire is advancing at a "moderate rate of speed," and is "spotting," referring to the fact that the wind is scattering embers from the fire, and these can start new fires. Johnson noted that the wind is becoming increasingly breezy and the temperatures have cooled compared to the past few days.

Strong Santa Ana winds have struck the area recently, with even coastal regions experiencing extremely low humidity. Since July 1, there has been hardly any rainfall, leaving dry and brittle brush in its wake. As reported by the National Weather Service, the San Diego valleys and mountains are forecasted to face critical fire conditions through 10 a.m. today, categorized under a red-flag warning.

Over the night, numerous San Diego Gas & Electric customers, mostly residing in rural and mountainous areas, had their electricity interrupted to prevent high wind gusts from toppling power lines, which could have ignited a wildfire.

Gusty winds from the east continued to cause issues on early Friday morning. At Otay Mountain, the winds were averaging almost 30 mph, and the humidity was a very low 2%. It will not be until the weekend for a storm that could bring rain to the affected area to arrive. Forecasters expect Friday's temperature in the area of the burning fire to reach about 75 degrees. They predict cooler weather on Saturday, with scattered showers possibly reaching the fire area by Sunday.

Johnston stated there were about 200 firefighters at the scene last night, and that number will probably increase throughout the day. By shortly after 6 a.m., crews had established a containment line encompassing roughly 10 percent of the fire's area.

The California Department of Forestry also had two helicopters making nighttime water drops, and they have scheduled fixed-wing planes to make drops after sunrise.

The agency reported the fire just after 2:20 p.m. Thursday, stating on social media that it was a brush fire on the Otay Mountain Truck Trail within the Otay Wilderness Area.

Within a short time following the fire, haze caused the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District to issue a smoke alert for the lower southwestern region of the county, which included Otay Mesa and neighboring zones.

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Staff writer Gary Robbins assisted in the preparation of this article.

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