Camp Pendleton Brush Fire Continues to Rage

A brush fire burned 1,125 acres in a remote section of Camp Pendleton and was still raging late Friday, authorities said.

No one was hurt, no buildings were threatened and no structural damage was expected from the fire, which began about 11:45 a.m. Friday, Cpl. Lyle Gilbert said.

Firefighters said the blaze was 60% contained late Friday and sought to fully contain it today, said Cele Cundari, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry. Crews hoped to control the fire by Sunday, she said.

Burning in the base’s northeastern corner, west of Fallbrook, the fire began on the western edge of the Fallbrook Naval Weapons Station, which itself is on Camp Pendleton, Gilbert said.

Fire crews believed there was “no danger” of it moving out of Camp Pendleton or toward Fallbrook, he said.

Consuming brush in canyons in the Santa Margarita Mountains, the fire grew from 50 acres about 1:30 p.m. to about 500 by late afternoon, to 750 and then to 1,125 by late Friday night, spreading northeast and northwest, he said.

Firefighters said the area was dry, Gilbert said.

About 7 p.m., crews reported that they believed they had contained the fire but said they did not know when it would be controlled, according to Gilbert. An hour later, though, crews said that first report was premature, that the fire was about 60% contained.

About 350 firefighters from North County fire departments, U.S. Forest Service and the CDF joined Camp Pendleton firefighters in fighting the blaze, officials said. Earlier Friday, during daylight, helicopters and aerial tankers were called in, Gilbert said.

The naval weapons station stores several kinds of ammunition, but none was threatened by the fire, he said.

A state forestry fire engine suffered the only property damage from the blaze--the heat blistered its paint, Cundari said.

The cause of the fire is unknown, Gilbert said.