Fire Destroys Homes in San Diego County

A fast-moving fire whipped by winds on Wednesday burned more than 5,500 acres of dry brush, destroyed several expensive homes and forced hundreds of homeowners in this rural community in eastern San Diego County to flee.

Only one serious injury was reported, but fire officials said four homes, four other buildings and five trailers were destroyed and hundreds of homes were imperiled, forcing evacuation.

“The worst part is that my brother died recently and now I’ve lost all of his pictures,” said a tearful Diane Francis, whose 3,000-square-foot home exploded in flames and was a total loss before firefighters could arrive.

The Viejas fire, as it was later named by firefighters, began in the median of Interstate 8, possibly when an eastbound car caught fire about 4:30 a.m.

Pushed by winds gusting up to 65 mph, the fire spread quickly through neighborhoods tucked away in small valleys, forcing the closure of the freeway all day and evening.

More than 1,500 firefighters from dozens of agencies, and half a dozen water-dropping aircraft from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, fought multiple fingers of the blaze. But the erratic winds, seemingly blowing in opposite directions at the

same time, made containment difficult.

By late afternoon, firefighters from Orange County were heading south to help fight the blaze. The Orange County Fire Authority sent dozens of personnel, a helicopter plus three strike teams of five engines and a battalion chief to Alpine. Some cities, among them Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach, also sent help, said Dennis Shell, spokesman for the county fire agency.

Firefighters said their efforts were hampered by the winds, by narrow, winding roads and by “vanity” street signs bearing unofficial street names that caused confusion for firefighters.

At nightfall, fire officials said that they could not predict when the fire would be contained, but that no other homes were in immediate danger.

“The fire is still running,” said U.S. Forest Service Battalion Chief Mike Conrad.

The home of Keith Till, a former Seal Beach city manager, was spared by the flames but two of the family’s three horses suffered burns. The horses had been presents to the Tills’ children to ease the pain of relocating to a new home.

“The whole family is just devastated by this,” Till said.

Till, who is now the city manager for Santee, credited city officials and volunteers with saving the two horses.

“As I headed out my driveway, I could see a major fire,” he said. “When I we got out to the place where we keep our horses, we found the residents had just barely escaped with their lives.”

The fire forced the closure of the Viejas and Sycuan casinos and the evacuation of the county-run Descanso Detention Facility before dawn. The gamblers were given time to cash out, and prisoners were loaded into buses to be taken to other facilities for the duration of the fire.

A thick cloud of dark smoke covered much of San Diego, about 35 miles away, sending down a gentle rain of ashes and causing schools to cancel outdoor activities. Hospital emergency rooms reported numerous people seeking treatment for breathing problems. Schools in the Mountain Empire district were closed.

The fire comes during one of the driest winter seasons ever seen in Southern California. Last month was the driest December in San Diego County in 70 years.

Brush in some areas was more than 8 feet tall and so dry that it snapped easily. Homeowners and firefighters reported hearing and seeing large stands of brush explode with a terrifying noise when hit by just one of the hundreds of embers hurled through the air by the whirling winds.

Several hundred homeowners, ordered to evacuate by sheriff’s deputies who banged on doors and used bullhorns, took refuge at the Alpine Community Center, where they huddled around televisions and strained for glimpses of the homes they left behind. Three schools were used as shelters, with food and counseling available from the Red Cross.

Chuck Allers, pastor at Horizon Christian Fellowship church in San Diego, walked among the evacuees, some of whom were crying, some only able to stare blankly at the television. He offered hot coffee and encouragement.

“Bad things happen in this world,” he told them. “The world is stained with sin, but through the Bible, you know that all things work for the good for those who have been called to his purpose.”

Diana Cardenas, a homemaker, thought she saw her house on TV, in flames.

“Oh my God,” she cried. “That’s our house.”

Her husband, Isidoro, moved to comfort her. “It’s just material stuff,” he told her. “It’s insured.”

Many of the newer arrivals were shocked at how suddenly fire could threaten their homes and their lives.

“It was the freakiest experience we ever had,” said Bobbi Jackson, who had just moved to Alpine from Washington state. “Look at how beautiful our view is--any day but today.”

Some residents said the fire reminded them of the worst fire the rural region has ever experienced, the Laguna fire of September 1970, in which 185,000 acres burned.

“It was like deja vu,” said Steve TeSam, chairman of the Viejas (Indian) Tribal Council. “It was the 1970 fire all over again.”

Thirty-seven sheep, goats and horses were rescued by volunteers from the San Diego Humane Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

But one horse, wild from fright, ran onto the road and was struck and killed; another was badly burned and was euthanized by a veterinarian on the scene. Veterinarians were examining rescued horses to see if their lungs had been scarred by inhaling smoke and cinders.

Two owners rode their prized horses to safety, and a truckload of goats made its way through winding, smoky roads to a shelter.

Although hilly, hot in summer and separated from San Diego by traffic-clogged Interstate 8, Alpine--population 10,500--has become increasingly popular because property prices are more reasonable than in areas closer to the ocean. Many of the homes are “ranchettes” that have sufficient acreage for horses and other livestock.

Elsewhere in Southern California, similarly high winds and low humidity had fire crews on alert.

In Ventura County, arson detection teams patrolled the brushy hillsides surrounding Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. Last week a brush fire in the foothills of Thousand Oaks blackened about 600 acres and came within 100 feet of dozens of luxury homes in a gated community.

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Times staff writers Hector Becerra, Jessica Garrison and Timothy Hughes and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

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* ANXIOUS WAITING

Warm winds along dry hillsides and canyons combine to put Orange County firefighters on edge. B1