600 Acres Burn as S.D. Blaze Singes Homes

A fast-moving brush fire blazed across Cowles Mountain and Mission Trails County Park on Saturday afternoon, damaging at least 21 homes in the San Carlos area of San Diego as hundreds of firefighters from throughout the county fought the flames in sweltering, record-breaking heat.

The fire, which began shortly after 1 p.m. when a gust of wind knocked together two high-voltage utility lines, fanned out in three “When they say evacuate, they mean immediately.” Page 12. directions across the park and had burned across more than 600 acres by Saturday night.

The fire spread through canyons crisscrossing several San Carlos neighborhoods, and it appeared almost miraculous that the damage to homes had been limited to minor roof fires.

Seen for Miles By 10 p.m., fire officials declared the blaze 75% contained. The fire continued to burn brightly at the top of the mountain and could be seen for miles Saturday night.

Fire crews planned to stay overnight as well as most of today and tonight to ensure there are no new flare-ups near homes.

During the day, flames whipped by gusty winds rose as high as 30 feet in the air, and smoke billowed into huge clouds. By late afternoon, even the beaches had hazed over. Labor Day weekend revelers could see the skies turn gray and could smell traces of smoke in the air.

No injuries were reported, but officials said one Poway firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.

Cox Cable Knocked Out The fire knocked out a cable leading to Cox Cable system’s satellite equipment atop 1,580-foot Cowles Mountain and threatened transmitters on the peak that are used by area law enforcement agencies.

When the fire threatened to sweep through several neighborhoods, police officers banged on doors and ordered hundreds of residents to leave their homes. Many of them, tearful as they cradled precious belongings in their arms, stood helplessly watching the fire spread on both the San Diego and Santee sides of the park.

Though it appeared reminiscent of the Normal Heights fire of three years ago, when 84 homes were burned to the ground or damaged, Saturday’s blaze actually developed in a totally different fashion.

The Normal Heights fire burned upward, reaching homes straddling the tops of canyons. The fire around Cowles Mountain, however, spread downward, striking homes along the base of the park.

‘Good, Hard Work’ “It was just some good, hard work that kept this fire from turning into another Normal Heights tragedy,” said Larry Stewart, a San Diego fire spokesman. “There’s no doubt about it.”

In the heat and smoke, firefighters braved stifling heat, to battle flames that leaped down the hillsides and into the backyards of homes near Golfcrest Drive and Mission Gorge in San Diego, and within five yards of a mobile-home park in Santee.

Some firefighters hiked into the rugged terrain above the homes, carrying water packs on their backs and laying water lines to push back the flames.

At the bottom of the canyon sides, residents grabbed garden hoses, climbed ladders and doused roof shingles, shrubs, bushes, trees--anything flammable.

Homeowners Cited Some homeowners, stubbornly refusing to leave their property, were cited by police for impeding emergency personnel. An elderly man was spotted atop Cowles Mountain late in the day. When he refused to come down, police considered getting a helicopter to remove him from the peak.

The fire was first reported about 1:09 p.m., near the Pepper Hill Town Homes Complex in Santee. A witness told firefighters he saw the wind blow together two high-voltage overhead wires just south of Mission Gorge Road. The wires touched and arced, then scattered burning debris onto the ground.

A Lakeside fire team was the first on the scene. The crew built a small firebreak, using shovels and picks to stop the flames from spreading.

When Santee Fire Chief George Tockstein arrived at the scene and saw huge flames leaping over a ridge line, he quickly realized he would need the help of firefighters from throughout the county.

‘Called for the World’ “At that point, based on what I saw, I called for the world, immediately,” he said.

But immediate help from additional fire companies was slow in coming because firefighters were occupied elsewhere. Fire companies at that time were busy at a house fire a mile away from Cowles Mountain and at a chemical spill at the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility.

Near the original flash point of the fire, Ruth Meier, manager of the Highlands Mobile Home Park, helped evacuate many of the 300 families.

Instead of continuing east into Santee, the fire shifted with the wind, moving quickly up and over Cowles Mountain and down into San Carlos.

sh Humidity at 14% When the fire began, the humidity was at 14%, winds were 20 miles an hour from the east and the temperature a blistering 109 degrees.

“We stopped the fire in nine houses at this end of this street,” said one firefighter, hosing a roof on Jennite Drive, where an outside thermometer read 120 degrees. “And here we are trying to put out these wood shingles.”

Police, medical and fire command posts were set up along residential streets outside the park. Police manpower was so drained that officers were told to stop responding to non-injury accidents. The neighborhoods near the fire were closed off and evacuated. Both Mission Gorge and Golfcrest were closed to traffic. Hundreds of people lined up along Navajo to watch the drama.

Hikers Evacuated By 1:30 p.m., hikers were evacuated off the peak. Forty-eight female prisoners from the state Camp Rainbow in Fallbrook were dispatched at 2 p.m. to assist firefighters. Federal firefighters from the Naval Air Station at Miramar were also called in, lugging with them a 2,500-gallon water tank.

Four air tankers, along with other men and equipment from the California Department of Forestry, arrived at the scene. Orange fire retardant was dumped from low-flying aircraft over areas of brush threatened by the fire. Some of the aircraft were later diverted to Riverside County to help fight a fire there.

All of the homes struck by fire were on the San Diego side, and Jeff Carle, an official with the Metro Arson Strike Team, said the worst single home damage was about $2,000.

At 4 p.m., the fire was pronounced about 40% contained. It then moved northwest into the park, heading toward Mission Gorge Road.

Screens Went Blank Television screens hooked to the Cox cable system went blank about 5:30 p.m., and dozens of workers arrived at the foot of the mountain, waiting to set up a new cable and survey the damage.

By 7 p.m., about 50 homes were ordered evacuated along the eastern edge of the park, where the remaining hot spots were being watched by firefighters.

Tockstein said about 250 firefighters responded, coming from as far away as Vista, Escondido, Poway, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista and National City.

Also contributing to this report were Times staff writers Greg Johnson, Jane Fritsch, Joseph Menn and Gene Yasuda.