Witch Fire and Harris Fire updates - 22nd October, Part 2
Other SD Firestorm 2007 updates
Updates here have been resorted and are now in reverse chronological order.
5:56p: The UT fireblog has been moved. Loads a bit more consistently now.
Voluntary evacuations are taking place in eastern Chula Vista. Boundaries are east of Mt. Miguel Road, north of Proctor Valley Road, east of Hunte Parkway and north of Otay Lakes Road.
The Cleveland National Forest is closed to the public until the end of the fire emergency.
The Rice fire is on both sides of Reche Road, near the 15. It hasn't hit the main Fallbrook community yet, though.
5:17p: Turns out that the evacuation of Crest has only been voluntary so far, but they're planning on making in mandatory.
The Witch fire keeps spreading, and the next neighborhoods in its projected paths are Carmel Mountain Ranch, Mira Mesa, 4S Ranch, Peutz Valley, Harbison Canyon, and western Alpine. I'll keep you posted if I hear of a CMR or Mira Mesa evacuation.
5:07p: The Witch fire is now at 12,000 acres.
So far, 50 homes have been destroyed in Poway, 70 in Escondido, and 6 in Rancho Santa Fe. New figures for Rancho Bernardo are not yet available.
5:02p: 100 homes have burned in Fallbrook; 500-1000 are still at risk.
Qualcomm is still accepting blanket and cot donations. They already have enough perishable food items for now, it looks like.
Poway Girls & Boys Club and the Del Mar Fairgrounds have both reached capacity.
4:53p: While I was taking a meal break, Cat Dirt Sez was covering the 4:00p press conference. The post has some pretty good info, but some brief highlights:
Power outages have been affecting up to 34,000 residents.
250,000 people have been evacuated.
Airtankers are now up in the air.
The Rice fire (as in Rice Canyon; this is the fire affecting Fallbrook) is up to 750 acres and 0% containment. Harris fire is at over 20,000 acres. The Witch fire containment level is unknown; the greatest activity areas are to the south and the west.
4:21p: More maps available. The KPBS map doesn't have full fire area outlines, but it's a start... it's got some good info there, at least. The SignOnSanDiego fires page has a better map, with both the fire areas and evacuation areas clearly outlined, but the site doesn't always load due to high traffic. Someone in the san_diego community posted a screenshot here about an hour and a half ago.
4:07p: Further clarification on the northeast Escondido evacuation: the area being evacuation is the Mountain View area, north to Citrus Avenue up to Bear Valley Parkway, and then continuing up to Lake Wohlford Road, including the Hidden Trails area.
3:52p: The Escondido evacuation includes the Summercreek area.
The El Cajon Animal Shelter is taking both small animals and livestock. The Westfield Parkway and Granite Hills High parking lots are holding large livestock; Granite Hills High can also take trailers.
3:46p: Mandatory evacuation has been announced for Harbison Canyon, other parts of west Alpine, and Crest.
Lakeside Rodeo Grounds is open again for livestock, horse, and other large animal evacuations.
3:40p: Mandatory evacuation in southwest Escondido. The north and south boundaries are Hamilton Lane and Via Rancho Parkway respectively. The west boundary is Valley Parkway; I didn't catch the east boundary but I'm guessing it's up to/past the 15. There's also an evacuation in northern Escondido, though I didn't catch the boundaries of that one.
Per KPBS's Twitter updates, a mandatory evacuation has been announced in Encinitas. There's also an evacuation request in the La Costa area.
El Toro High in Lake Forest (Orange County) has been opened as an evacuation center, for those who are leaving Fallbrook.
Despite any earlier reports to the contrary, it looks like Mt. Carmel High is NOT an evacuation point.
3:25p: The Coronado Hills fire is 100% contained - they expect full control by tomorrow. The San Elijo Hills evacuation orders have been lifted. The Coronado Hills evacuation remains in effect.
Just realized the Solana Beach website has a page with voluntary evacuation information, including a list of the actual streets under evacuation.
3:04p: Forgot to mention this earlier, but there are voluntary evacuations in parts of Del Mar. I'm trying to find more specific info but haven't yet; keep me posted.
2:28p: Grossmont Union High is open to larger animals. Trailers and RVs can also go to the same site.
2:25p: Poway Community Park is now full; people are now being directed to Santana High.
2:13p: Shelters that still have room as of 1:45p are Qualcomm Stadium, Santana High School, Poway Community Park, Poway Girls & Boys Club, Campo Community Center, and Mission Hills High School.
2:10p: Mandatory evacuation for all Fallbrook residents north of the 76 and west of the 15. These residents are to travel along Ammunition Road through Camp Pendleton and then up the 5 to San Clemente.
1:48p: Mandatory evacuation in Scripps Ranch. The area is bounded by Scripps Poway Parkway to the north, MCAS Miramar to the South, the 67 to the east, and the 15 to the west. Evacuees are being sent to Qualcomm Stadium.
Qualcomm is in need of various donations (prepackaged food, sunscreen, shade canopies, cots, blankets, etc.).
Harris fire is still moving west after jumping Otay Lakes Rd. Chula Vista has issued a voluntary evacuation for the eastern neighborhoods - Bella Lago, Eastlake Woods, parts of San Miguel Ranch, and parts of Rolling Hills Ranch. I didn't catch all of the boundaries, unfortunately. Evacuation center is at Chula Vista High School.
1:45p: Homes in Otay Mesa are being evacuated.
1:20p: They're evacuating San Ysidro High after all. Evacuation point is now at Montgomery Waller Park.
5N is moving pretty slowly... it's practically at a dead stop between the 56 and Via de la Valle.
1:13p: Per cloudmistress, the CHP site (set to San Diego) is pretty useful.
12:58p: Mandatory evacuation in Fallbrook - it's starting east of the 15, and the area is bounded by Live Oak Park Road, Gird Road, and East Mission Road to the north and San Luis Rey River to the south.
A large portion of Valley Center, near the Bear Valley area, is also under mandatory evacuation.
Grossmont College is under mandatory evacuation.
Horses can be taken to Miramar AFB as the other areas fill up, though I'm not yet sure about other animals.
The 76 is now closed between the 5 and the 15.
12:50p: New area of Poway being evacuated - this area is bounded by Rattlesnake Creek to the south, Midland Rd to the west, San Diego Aqueduct to the E, and Lake Poway to the North. Mt. Carmel High and Poway Community Park are being set up as evacuation points.
Leucadia is no longer being evacuated.
San Ysidro High is being opened as an evacuation center. This school is not yet being evacuated, though the middle school is.
Parents are being asked to pick up their children from South County and San Diego Unified schools, due to air quality, and those schools will be closed tomorrow.
12:41p: Cat Dirt Sez has also been blogging about the local fires (link from danifesto).
Fire in southwest Escondido... specifically, in Lomas Serenas.
Classes at SDSU have (finally!) been cancelled.
12:33p: To clarify the Solana Beach evacuations, people on streets near Holmwood Canyon specifically have been advised to evacuate, but so far it's not yet mandatory. Residents of other parts of Solana Beach should be prepared to evacuate, but have not specifically been advised to leave just yet.
12:17p: Nap lasted longer than I'd planned. Anyway. News within the past hour or so includes:
At least 20 homes in Rancho Bernardo have been destroyed. Per jessimuhka, a list of affected homes can be found at cbs8.com.
Wild Animal Park personnel were evacuated earlier today. Critically endangered species and animals in threatened areas were taken to a safe zone during the night. Other animals remain in open, heavily irrigated areas.
Also on an animal-related note, the Del Mar Fairgrounds is full, and Lakeside Rodeo is nearing capacity of large animals. I don't know where they can be taken now... any news?
About a half hour ago, Poway ordered an evacuation north of Twin Peaks Road, and the High Valley area north of Poway Road. Areas that remain closed in Poway are south of Twin Peaks Road, north of Poway Road, east of Community Road and west of Espola Road.
Solana Beach is undergoing a voluntary evacuations.
Here's a better map of the fires, though it's not totally up-to-date (it's as of 9:00a or so this morning). Solidly shaded areas are on fire; hatched areas are the evacuated areas.
Updates here have been resorted and are now in reverse chronological order.
5:56p: The UT fireblog has been moved. Loads a bit more consistently now.
Voluntary evacuations are taking place in eastern Chula Vista. Boundaries are east of Mt. Miguel Road, north of Proctor Valley Road, east of Hunte Parkway and north of Otay Lakes Road.
The Cleveland National Forest is closed to the public until the end of the fire emergency.
The Rice fire is on both sides of Reche Road, near the 15. It hasn't hit the main Fallbrook community yet, though.
5:17p: Turns out that the evacuation of Crest has only been voluntary so far, but they're planning on making in mandatory.
The Witch fire keeps spreading, and the next neighborhoods in its projected paths are Carmel Mountain Ranch, Mira Mesa, 4S Ranch, Peutz Valley, Harbison Canyon, and western Alpine. I'll keep you posted if I hear of a CMR or Mira Mesa evacuation.
5:07p: The Witch fire is now at 12,000 acres.
So far, 50 homes have been destroyed in Poway, 70 in Escondido, and 6 in Rancho Santa Fe. New figures for Rancho Bernardo are not yet available.
5:02p: 100 homes have burned in Fallbrook; 500-1000 are still at risk.
Qualcomm is still accepting blanket and cot donations. They already have enough perishable food items for now, it looks like.
Poway Girls & Boys Club and the Del Mar Fairgrounds have both reached capacity.
4:53p: While I was taking a meal break, Cat Dirt Sez was covering the 4:00p press conference. The post has some pretty good info, but some brief highlights:
Power outages have been affecting up to 34,000 residents.
250,000 people have been evacuated.
Airtankers are now up in the air.
The Rice fire (as in Rice Canyon; this is the fire affecting Fallbrook) is up to 750 acres and 0% containment. Harris fire is at over 20,000 acres. The Witch fire containment level is unknown; the greatest activity areas are to the south and the west.
4:21p: More maps available. The KPBS map doesn't have full fire area outlines, but it's a start... it's got some good info there, at least. The SignOnSanDiego fires page has a better map, with both the fire areas and evacuation areas clearly outlined, but the site doesn't always load due to high traffic. Someone in the san_diego community posted a screenshot here about an hour and a half ago.
4:07p: Further clarification on the northeast Escondido evacuation: the area being evacuation is the Mountain View area, north to Citrus Avenue up to Bear Valley Parkway, and then continuing up to Lake Wohlford Road, including the Hidden Trails area.
3:52p: The Escondido evacuation includes the Summercreek area.
The El Cajon Animal Shelter is taking both small animals and livestock. The Westfield Parkway and Granite Hills High parking lots are holding large livestock; Granite Hills High can also take trailers.
3:46p: Mandatory evacuation has been announced for Harbison Canyon, other parts of west Alpine, and Crest.
Lakeside Rodeo Grounds is open again for livestock, horse, and other large animal evacuations.
3:40p: Mandatory evacuation in southwest Escondido. The north and south boundaries are Hamilton Lane and Via Rancho Parkway respectively. The west boundary is Valley Parkway; I didn't catch the east boundary but I'm guessing it's up to/past the 15. There's also an evacuation in northern Escondido, though I didn't catch the boundaries of that one.
Per KPBS's Twitter updates, a mandatory evacuation has been announced in Encinitas. There's also an evacuation request in the La Costa area.
El Toro High in Lake Forest (Orange County) has been opened as an evacuation center, for those who are leaving Fallbrook.
Despite any earlier reports to the contrary, it looks like Mt. Carmel High is NOT an evacuation point.
3:25p: The Coronado Hills fire is 100% contained - they expect full control by tomorrow. The San Elijo Hills evacuation orders have been lifted. The Coronado Hills evacuation remains in effect.
Just realized the Solana Beach website has a page with voluntary evacuation information, including a list of the actual streets under evacuation.
3:04p: Forgot to mention this earlier, but there are voluntary evacuations in parts of Del Mar. I'm trying to find more specific info but haven't yet; keep me posted.
2:28p: Grossmont Union High is open to larger animals. Trailers and RVs can also go to the same site.
2:25p: Poway Community Park is now full; people are now being directed to Santana High.
2:13p: Shelters that still have room as of 1:45p are Qualcomm Stadium, Santana High School, Poway Community Park, Poway Girls & Boys Club, Campo Community Center, and Mission Hills High School.
2:10p: Mandatory evacuation for all Fallbrook residents north of the 76 and west of the 15. These residents are to travel along Ammunition Road through Camp Pendleton and then up the 5 to San Clemente.
1:48p: Mandatory evacuation in Scripps Ranch. The area is bounded by Scripps Poway Parkway to the north, MCAS Miramar to the South, the 67 to the east, and the 15 to the west. Evacuees are being sent to Qualcomm Stadium.
Qualcomm is in need of various donations (prepackaged food, sunscreen, shade canopies, cots, blankets, etc.).
Harris fire is still moving west after jumping Otay Lakes Rd. Chula Vista has issued a voluntary evacuation for the eastern neighborhoods - Bella Lago, Eastlake Woods, parts of San Miguel Ranch, and parts of Rolling Hills Ranch. I didn't catch all of the boundaries, unfortunately. Evacuation center is at Chula Vista High School.
1:45p: Homes in Otay Mesa are being evacuated.
1:20p: They're evacuating San Ysidro High after all. Evacuation point is now at Montgomery Waller Park.
5N is moving pretty slowly... it's practically at a dead stop between the 56 and Via de la Valle.
1:13p: Per cloudmistress, the CHP site (set to San Diego) is pretty useful.
12:58p: Mandatory evacuation in Fallbrook - it's starting east of the 15, and the area is bounded by Live Oak Park Road, Gird Road, and East Mission Road to the north and San Luis Rey River to the south.
A large portion of Valley Center, near the Bear Valley area, is also under mandatory evacuation.
Grossmont College is under mandatory evacuation.
Horses can be taken to Miramar AFB as the other areas fill up, though I'm not yet sure about other animals.
The 76 is now closed between the 5 and the 15.
12:50p: New area of Poway being evacuated - this area is bounded by Rattlesnake Creek to the south, Midland Rd to the west, San Diego Aqueduct to the E, and Lake Poway to the North. Mt. Carmel High and Poway Community Park are being set up as evacuation points.
Leucadia is no longer being evacuated.
San Ysidro High is being opened as an evacuation center. This school is not yet being evacuated, though the middle school is.
Parents are being asked to pick up their children from South County and San Diego Unified schools, due to air quality, and those schools will be closed tomorrow.
12:41p: Cat Dirt Sez has also been blogging about the local fires (link from danifesto).
Fire in southwest Escondido... specifically, in Lomas Serenas.
Classes at SDSU have (finally!) been cancelled.
12:33p: To clarify the Solana Beach evacuations, people on streets near Holmwood Canyon specifically have been advised to evacuate, but so far it's not yet mandatory. Residents of other parts of Solana Beach should be prepared to evacuate, but have not specifically been advised to leave just yet.
12:17p: Nap lasted longer than I'd planned. Anyway. News within the past hour or so includes:
At least 20 homes in Rancho Bernardo have been destroyed. Per jessimuhka, a list of affected homes can be found at cbs8.com.
Wild Animal Park personnel were evacuated earlier today. Critically endangered species and animals in threatened areas were taken to a safe zone during the night. Other animals remain in open, heavily irrigated areas.
Also on an animal-related note, the Del Mar Fairgrounds is full, and Lakeside Rodeo is nearing capacity of large animals. I don't know where they can be taken now... any news?
About a half hour ago, Poway ordered an evacuation north of Twin Peaks Road, and the High Valley area north of Poway Road. Areas that remain closed in Poway are south of Twin Peaks Road, north of Poway Road, east of Community Road and west of Espola Road.
Solana Beach is undergoing a voluntary evacuations.
Here's a better map of the fires, though it's not totally up-to-date (it's as of 9:00a or so this morning). Solidly shaded areas are on fire; hatched areas are the evacuated areas.
