| I just got off the phone with my parents. They live down in Encinitas, CA, in northwestern San Diego County, and are not currently in harm's way due to the fires. But they say it's just surreal down there; the sky is filled with so much ash it looks like it's snowing, it's difficult to breathe even indoors, and it was very dark all day long. Freeways, schools, post offices - they're all shut down. All persons with non-essential jobs were being urged to stay home. To hear my Dad describe where the three fires have burned is like hearing where there is open space in San Diego county. It's truly incredible... The Cedar Fire burned a huge swath of land nearly encircling Lakeside, where I lived for 10 years, and it reached all the way to Eucalyptus Hills. Many of my friends from junior high and high school lived in Eucalyptus Hills. It then continued down Mission Gorge and then jumped I-15, that's 10 lanes of concrete! It destroyed about 350 homes in Scripps Ranch, Poway, and Tierrasanta. These communities are at the eastern edge of the city of San Diego itself - I cannot even imagine a fire getting that close! Now it's burning in the Cuyumaca Mountains and it has destroyed the community of Cuyumaca, and they've evacuated the towns of Julian, Descanso, Wynola, Pine Valley, and Guatay. My Grandfather had some property near Cuyumaca... The Paradise Fire started out near Valley Center east of Escondido where my sister was born. The town of Palomar has been evacuated. It's burned about 70 homes. The Otay Fire was headed towards Jamul and Lemon Grove and greater San Diego but backfires were set and that successfully stopped the march of the fire northwest. But it's burned a huge chunk of land in southeastern San Diego County and has crossed the border into Mexico. Then about 1:00 pm today reports of a fire at I-5 and Leucadia Blvd came out. Now that is quite near where my parents live! Luckily it was just a small grass fire that was put out quickly. Current Fire Information and maps Fires of 2007 Back to Tarol's Homepage |
| Fires in San Diego County |