Cooler Temperatures Bring Relief, but Not From Runaway Wildfires

Temperatures cooled considerably Friday, giving San Diego County its first real relief from this week’s heat, but the county’s largest wildfire so far this fire season continued to blaze out of control.

The blaze, which officials believe was started by an arsonist, charred more than 4,000 acres of brush just south of the remote Lake Henshaw area around the junction of California 76 and 79 in North County and was only 55% contained by late Friday, officials said.

About 400 residents of the small community of San Felipe were evacuated from their homes Friday, the Sheriff’s Department said. One hundred deputies coordinated the evacuation from about 150 houses and mobile homes.

The fire had already destroyed structures on the Mataguay Scout Reservation, closed parts of three highways for a time and injured seven firefighters, the California Department of Forestry said.

Meanwhile, slightly above-normal temperatures, a nemesis to firefighters, are expected to linger into next week.

Friday’s cooler conditions were caused by a low-pressure system that formed off San Diego’s coast, generating strong marine winds that lowered temperatures across most areas west of the mountains, said National Weather Service forecaster Dan Atkin.

The forecast for the weekend and through early next week calls for temperatures to rise to slightly above normal but not to the blistering levels that baked the county this week, Atkin said.

For most of this week, firefighters have battled heavy brush fires, often in rocky terrain, while at the same time contending with the high temperatures and gusting winds.

Officials estimate full containment for the Lake Henshaw fire no earlier than about midnight Sunday. It has been roaring out of control since 2:15 p.m. Thursday, Audrey Hagan, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry, said.

The flames moved rapidly Friday in a southeast direction from the junction of California 76 and 79, also called Morettis Junction after a family long-established in that area, to the Volcan Mountains, Hagan said.

Shortly after 3 p.m., the fire also headed east toward the San Felipe and Ranchita communities, where fire-fighting strike teams were stationed to protect houses.

Evacuees were transported to the Warner Unified School District elementary school gymnasium, about 5 miles northeast of the junction of California 76 and 79, sheriff’s deputies said .

More than 800 firefighters battled the raging brush and timber fire, with help from 110 engines, six bulldozers, 20 hand crews, two helicopters, three air tankers and six water tankers.

The blaze is the 11th brush fire to occur in the county since Tuesday. The fires have blackened more than 6,000 acres, the forestry department reported.

Although officials have found the cause of the Lake Henshaw fire--a matchbook--authorities are still investigating the blaze. Capt. John Adkins, forestry department fire investigator, said no suspects have been identified and investigators are checking license numbers of cars seen in the area shortly before the fire erupted.

This fire season, which began June 1, is one of the worst in the last five years, according to Adkins.

On Friday, no damage was reported to houses, but seven firefighters suffered minor injuries, according to Carol Stein, another forestry spokeswoman

Parts of California 76 and 79, Route S22 and San Felipe Road were closed Friday because of heavy smoke, officials said. By nightfall, all but S22 had been reopened.

On Thursday, about 400 people were evacuated from the Mataguay Scout Reservation, the forestry department reported. One camp building, several outhouses, tepees and a fire tower on the 728-acre campsite were destroyed by the blaze, spokesman Don Templeman of the Boy Scouts of America said.

“Fortunately, the Navy Seabee project saved us. They’ve been up there for the last six months putting in a water system with fire hydrants and water storage tanks,” he said. Seabees had just completed widening roads and building fire breaks at the 29-year-old camp, Templeman said.

The 160 Boy Scouts and 180 Seabees evacuated from the Scout reservation spent Thursday night at the Warner school gymnasium.

Campers were returned to the San Diego area Friday morning, Templeman said, and it’s business as usual at Mataguay, with campers scheduled to arrive in two weeks for a camp session. However, a camp re-dedication ceremony scheduled for today has been canceled, officials said.

High temperatures this weekend are expected to reach the low 70s at the beach, mid-70s downtown and along the coast, mid-90s inland and in the mountains, and 106 in the desert.

Also, humidity will rise as tropical moisture moves north from Mexico and additional moisture moves in from tropical storm Elida, about 694 miles south of San Diego.

Friday’s high at Lindbergh Field reached 72 degrees, normal for the date. Areas reaching 90 degrees or higher included Borrego Springs at 109, Ramona at 98, Campo at 97 and the San Diego Wild Animal Park at 90.

The city Water Utilities Department reported a decrease in water use Thursday, with customers using 4.9% less water than expected, down considerably from Wednesday, when consumption was 2.9% more than predicted.

However, the county Water Authority, which supplies most of the county’s drinking water, continued to operate at capacity Friday.