2 New Blazes Erupt; Torrey Toll Assessed

Firefighters tackled two new blazes Wednesday while crews assessed the damage from Tuesday’s fire at Torrey Pines State Reserve.

Nearly 20 acres burned when a brush fire broke out at Carmel Valley Road and El Camino Real in Carmel Valley, a San Diego Fire Department spokesman said. The fire began in the early afternoon and was under control by 4:50 p.m.

No injuries were reported and no buildings were threatened. The fire broke out only a few miles from where a blaze at Torrey Pines State Reserve burned 60 acres Tuesday.

That fire destroyed nearly 50 of the rare Torrey pines, said Chris Platis, a ranger at the reserve. About a dozen mature trees were consumed by the fire, 18 were charred so badly that they will not survive, and nearly 20 smaller trees were destroyed, he said.

The loss concerned rangers because the trees were part of a group that had not been exposed to the bark beetle.

“For the last five years we were hoping (the bark beetle) wouldn’t spread into the east,” Platis said. “But the fire will give the bark beetle a greater advantage. Any new trees will be vulnerable.”

The ranger said the stress on the ecosystem may give the destructive beetle a foothold in the groves.

Over the past few years, nearly 700 of the reserve’s 6,000 trees have died because of the bark beetles, Platis said.

Still, the fire may end up stimulating growth in the long run.

“In some ways, the fire was beneficial,” Platis said. “We have controlled burns that remove the thick vegetation, resulting in more seedlings.” The seedlings take 15 to 20 years to reach maturity.

Another San Diego County brush fire was reported Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. on the Barona Indian Reservation, a California Department of Forestry spokeswoman said. It burned 5 acres before it was contained an hour later by two engine companies, two air tankers and two helicopters.