Canyon Fire Is Nearly Conquered, Officials Say

The wind-whipped brush fire that burned more than 3,300 acres as it sped through a rural canyon of luxury homes near Escondido this week was fully encircled by firefighters Wednesday afternoon.

The California Department of Forestry expects the 150 remaining firefighters to have the blaze extinguished by 8 a.m. today.

The fire began about noon Monday, damaged five homes, forced the evacuation of more than 200 residents, and, for a time, threatened to leap Del Dios Highway and attack the lakeside community of Del Dios.

“We got a line around the whole thing,” CDF spokeswoman Audrey Hagen said Wednesday evening. “We had a couple of hot spots around Del Dios Highway at about 3:30 (p.m. Wednesday), but everything is looking good now.”

She said one lane of Del Dios Highway was temporarily closed Wednesday to deal with the spot fires, which were quickly extinguished.

Everyone evacuated has been allowed back home.

Officials are pinning the blame for the blaze on target shooters. Spent shell casings were found at the fire’s origin. On Tuesday, one CDF official speculated that sparks from the muzzle of a high-velocity weapon could have started the fire.

Seven firefighters suffered minor injuries: a broken ankle, a twisted knee, a bee sting, cuts, bruises and a case of heat exhaustion.

A total damage figure has not yet been determined, but damage to homes alone is estimated at $100,000, CDF spokeswoman Hagen said.

The cost of fighting the fire was $650,000--$150,000 for the air assault and $500,000 for the ground crews and equipment, she added.

CDF officials said more than $20 million in homes, property, animals, sheds, and other structures were spared by the work of firefighters and volunteers, who attacked the blaze house to house.

Wednesday, air tankers continued to douse the area with fire retardant, and helicopters made trips to nearby Lake Hodges reservoir, scooping hundreds of gallons of water at a time to drop on the fire.

All but one of the homes affected by the fire had power restored by noon Tuesday, said SDG&E; spokesman Fred Vaughn. Two poles, a power line and a transmission pole were damaged in the fire, interrupting service to many homes at about 2 p.m. Monday.

Pacific Bell, meanwhile, ran into snags Wednesday that kept it from fully restoring phone service to the area.

“Unfortunately, we still have 25 customers who are out of service,” Pacific Bell spokesman Tommy McNaghten said Wednesday afternoon. Temporary cable to be laid today should solve the problem, he said.

McNaghten said customers still without phone service can make free local calls and credit card or collect long-distance calls from a truck at the intersection of Mt. Israel Road and Del Dios Highway. The truck will arrive at 6:30 a.m. today.