Fires Sparked by Artillery, Misplaced Dog Food Bag

Artillery fire ignited blazes that had blackened 5,000 acres of coastal scrub by Friday in the northern and southeastern corners of Camp Pendleton, a base spokeswoman said.

Elsewhere in the county, a fire near California 78 scorched 32 acres of brush Friday and a misplaced bag of dog food in a Point Loma home went up in flames, causing $30,000 in damage.

The Camp Pendleton fires were caused by routine training at the base, Lance Cpl. Lisa Nazworth said.

“When they fire off stuff and it’s incendiary, it sets the grass off,” she said.

Two fires in the southeastern corner of the base that started Thursday burned 4,500 acres. The first, in Aliso Canyon, began about 1 p.m. Thursday and burned 3,750 acres. The second, in Woods Canyon near Basilone Road, started about 4:45 p.m. and burned 750 acres.

Both blazes burned into the night Thursday but were controlled by Friday morning.

“They were pretty much doing a mop-up,” Nazworth said.

Just after 3:30 a.m. Friday, however, another blaze ignited in Tate Canyon, at the northern end of Camp Pendleton, she said. That fire burned 500 acres before it was contained at 10:25 a.m. Friday. Firefighters were still working to control it Friday evening.

None of the fires have caused any base camps to be evacuated, Nazworth said, but the second blaze caused the closure of Basilone Road for several hours.

About 300 firefighters battled the Camp Pendleton blazes. In addition to Camp Pendleton firefighters, firefighters from several San Diego County fire districts assisted, as did the California Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service, she said.

Two air tankers, several helicopters and a bulldozer contributed to the effort.

Elsewhere in the county, a brush fire on California 78 near Sutherland Dam burned 32 acres Friday and erratic winds made it difficult to predict when it would be fully controlled, authorities said. Officials closed the highway, diverting traffic onto Rancho Santa Teresa Drive.

The cause of the blaze, which started at 10:42 a.m. and burned an empty outdoor shed, is still undetermined, she said.

No one was evacuated and no other structures were threatened.

About 100 firefighters from the California Department of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service and the San Diego Fire Department battled the blaze, containing it by 12:33 p.m., but unpredictable winds left firefighters on edge, not knowing when the fire might flare up.

Three helicopters, three air tankers and a bulldozer were used to fight the fire.

In San Diego, a bag of dog food leaning against a toaster oven was responsible for a kitchen fire in a Point Loma home that caused $20,000 in structural damage and $10,000 in damage to the contents of the home, the San Diego Fire Department said.

At 9:50 a.m., firefighters responded to a house on Orchard Avenue, where smoke was billowing from the kitchen.

Firefighters quickly put out the blaze, which was confined to the kitchen, but the rest of the house had smoke damage.

A bag of dog food had fallen against a toaster oven, turning it on. The bag eventually ignited, a Fire Department spokesman said.

No one was home at the time.