San Diego County Fire Is in Check

Firefighters appeared to have gained the upper hand Saturday on a wind-whipped fire that destroyed 11 homes and charred 1,000 acres of brush in northeast San Diego County, authorities said.

The 11 homes, as well as 30 cars and 15 other structures, burned near Lake Wohlford, a rural community about 40 miles north of the city of San Diego.

Firefighters said they were close to containing the fire and expected to control it by this afternoon. No more structures were threatened Saturday. The fire, which began about 1 p.m. Friday in a steep, remote area, was set by an “arson device,” investigators said.

Of the 530 firefighters on the scene, one received a minor injury, officials said.

The cause of another blaze near Ramona was not immediately determined. By Saturday afternoon, officials said structures near that fire were no longer in danger. An air tanker helping douse that blaze crashed in the San Vicente Reservoir while scooping water Friday. Two crew members aboard the plane escaped without serious injury.