Fire Hits 5 Expensive Homes in S.D. County : Inferno: Fast-moving blaze burns 2,400 acres in and near Del Dios; 200 to 300 residents are evacuated.

Whipped by stiff coastal winds, a brush fire roared out of a canyon and into an exclusive enclave of houses near Escondido Monday afternoon, damaged five expensive homes and remained out of control Monday night, authorities said.

The fast-moving fire scorched 2,480 acres, consumed three cars, threatened hundreds of houses and forced the evacuation of 200 to 300 people and dozens of horses and other animals in and near Del Dios, a small unincorporated community about 30 miles northeast of downtown San Diego.

No one was killed as the fire tore out of a dense, dry canyon about 2 miles west of the five luxury homes, which were set back on country roads in the Mt. Israel area just west of Del Dios and the Lake Hodges reservoir, officials said. Late Monday night, the fire appeared unlikely to jump Del Dios Highway into the more densely populated hamlet.

The sole injury was to a 25-year-old firefighter who hurt a knee, officials said.

California Department of Forestry spokesman Bob Paul said Monday that the fire was “shooting-related” but declined to elaborate. Another CDF spokesman, Paul Smith, said the fire may have begun from errant target shooting.

Firefighters expect to have the fire contained by 6 p.m. today, Smith said.

More than 600 firefighters on the ground, reinforced by five air tankers and six helicopters, battled the blaze Monday as it moved northeast through hilly, shrub-covered areas, CDF Division Chief Bill Clayton said.

“We took all our photo albums, our children’s school records, my wife’s jewelry, some original paintings, things we can’t replace,” said Scott Miller, a Mt. Israel resident. “When we left there was fire on both sides of the road.”

Miller, 48, an accountant who works out of his home on Mt. Israel Road, said he had to dash out of his family’s house--a tile-roofed, wood and adobe structure filled with antiques--as the fast-moving fire approached from two directions.

“It was just an inferno when it came down the hill,” he said.

Later, he was allowed back--and found the house still smoldering, part of a library gone, a bathroom burned and smoke damage in the kitchen and living room.

But he said, “I told my daughter as we were watching it, ‘It’s OK. We’re safe.’ ”

All afternoon, the helicopters darted down to Lake Hodges to dip their buckets with water, then swooped back to a ridge line half a mile to the west to try to douse the flames.

Firefighters on the ground, meanwhile, found little relief from the heat away from the fire itself. Crews in the canyons endured temperatures that already had reached 106 in the canyons apart from the fire, CDF spokeswoman Audrey Hagen said, while the high temperature Monday in Escondido, just to the northeast, hit 99 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Ground crews and homeowners were surprised Monday afternoon by the speed with which the fire destroyed heavy brush in the canyons as it sped toward the expansive and expensive homes.

CDF Capt. Jim Van Meter said, “The fire is what we call ‘got away.’ The winds are erratic, and the fire is in a stage where it creates its own wind.”

The fire was so fast it threatened to overtake news crews reporting the blaze.

One photographer had to steal a ride on a fire truck to escape the flames. Another photographer, trying to make a fast escape wasn’t so fast--the fire scorched the driver’s side of his car.

Despite the speed of the blaze, fire crews reported that they also encountered conditions that were far more common.

“Typical Southern California stuff: poor access, steep canyons and homes without proper (brush) clearance,” CDF spokesman Smith said.

The smoke from the fire could be seen throughout San Diego County--as far north as Vista, 20 miles northwest, and even in downtown San Diego.

The fire began about noon in an area east of Rancho Santa Fe near Via de las Flores, a lonely backcountry road. By 1 p.m., it had burned “50-plus” acres, Van Meter said.

By 3 p.m., it had seared more than 800 acres and the five homes--each 5,000 to 10,000 square feet, some worth $500,000, according to the Forestry Department--in the Mt. Israel area.

Mt. Israel Road, a winding, paved road, leads up a steep canyon littered with large boulders. Shaded by tall trees, the homes clustered along the road overlook Lake Hodges.

The damaged five homes suffered roof and attic damage, the CDF’s Clayton said.

Robert Mitchell, a battalion chief with the Encinitas Fire Department, led one of the first fire crews up Mt. Israel Road.

“The fire was moving so fast it moved over these houses without burning them,” Mitchell said. “When it burned back, it got to some of them. It’s by the grace of God that they didn’t burn the first time. These are very, very lucky people.”

One of the lucky ones was Al Greco.

“It burned all around my house, right up to our pool,” Greco said. “But the house didn’t burn. We have the area around it cleared of brush.”

Richard Brady, 57, and his son, Brian, 19, still didn’t know late Monday what had happened to their nearby house.

They fled in the afternoon, carrying only the family’s two dogs, when flames charged to within 100 feet of their house.

“There was so much smoke you couldn’t breathe,” said Richard Brady, a San Diego State University professor.

“It was like a mushroom cloud,” said Brian Brady, a student at Palomar Community College.

By Monday night, the CDF said 2,480 acres were gone. The fire kept moving toward the more densely populated community of Del Dios, and spot fires jumped Del Dios Highway--but were put out. The fire did not advance farther.

Sandwiched between the highway and Lake Hodges, Del Dios is lined with oak and eucalyptus trees that tower over rows of older, wood-frame houses. The community has seen virtually no growth for decades because of a sewer moratorium.

Robin Tuomi, a waitress at the former Old Del Dios Country Store, now called Maxine’s, said there was “quite a lot of anxiety” in the hamlet.

“People have been calling me all day long because they can’t go home, and they want to find out where the fire is burning,” Tuomi said. “People don’t know if their house is safe.”

James Sweeney, who has lived in Del Dios 20 years, said some neighbors had packed and gone. But he was staying put.

“There’s a time to get out and time to stay. I don’t think there’s a danger--yet,” Sweeney said Monday night. “I can see the flames on the ridge, but it seems like they have it controlled.”

San Diego Sheriff’s Sgt. Harry Smith said 200 to 300 people were evacuated from their homes in the canyons and Del Dios. Officials set up an evacuation center at the Del Dios Middle School.

The 3 dozen worried homeowners who showed up at the school could do nothing but sit and wait, sift through rumors and watch television reports of the fire.

From the center, Rudy Canales, who lives in Del Dios, called his house several times before reaching his son. He talked in a low voice for several minutes, then put his hand to his forehead.

“Well, just keep your eyes open,” he said into the phone.

The center also offered a makeshift message board. One card read, “All’s well. We got the dog.”

To handle the various horses and ranch animals in the area, authorities set up a temporary animal shelter in a vacant lot in Del Dios, residents said. About 40 horses also were taken to a Del Mar stable, Showpark Riding Club.

Times staff writers John D. Cramer, John M. Glionna, Tom Gorman, Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Ray Tessler contributed to this story.