East County Brush Fire Blamed on Work Mishap

A spark from a cutting torch was responsible for the season’s first major brush fire that seared 1,650 acres in East County, the California Department of Forestry said Tuesday.

It took 500 firefighters just over 24 hours to fully contain the blaze that began shortly before noon Monday east of Dulzura on Barrett Smith Road near California 94, said Dolores Fremter, a CDF spokesman.

Two firefighters suffered heat exhaustion Monday, but no other injuries were reported, said Bob Paul, another CDF spokesman. Nearby structures that had been threatened Monday were out of harm’s way Tuesday morning, he said.

The cutting torch that ignited the blaze was being used to cut discarded railroad rails, officials said.

The California Highway Patrol reopened Barrett Smith Road about 9 p.m. Monday, hours after closing it at the request of the CDF. California 94 remained open.

Phone service was also restored to about 2,100 Pacific Bell customers before dawn Tuesday, said Tom McNaghten, a spokesman for the phone company. Residences and businesses between Campo and Jacumba lost telephone service about 1:30 p.m. Monday, when the fire burned phone cables.

Four bulldozers, six air tankers and three helicopters assisted ground crews. Efforts were slow because of the rocky terrain, Paul said.

Temperatures in the low 90s, southwest winds up to 15 m.p.h. and low humidity also impeded the progress of fire crews, Paul said.

A separate fire ignited about 3:10 p.m. Tuesday, burning 10 acres just south of the Barrett Smith Road blaze in an area known as Mine Canyon, Paul said. Steep, rocky terrain made access to that fire difficult, and firefighters had to be flown in, he said.

About 175 firefighters battled the heavily fueled Mine Canyon fire in its early stages, Paul said. Four air tankers, three helicopters, seven engines and one bulldozer assisted hand crews, he said.

But by late Tuesday, Fremter said, the fire was spreading slowly, burning over 15 acres. Containment was expected at 6 a.m. today.