Wildfire Destroys 4 Homes

A wildfire destroyed four homes and forced evacuations as it roared through 800 acres of rolling, oak-studded hills Sunday, authorities said.

The fire was 10% contained Sunday night and was threatening scattered homes. About 375 firefighters were on the scene, said Stacey Salazar of the California Department of Forestry.

The blaze, in cattle country about 200 miles north of Los Angeles, erupted near the small community of Santa Margarita about 3:15 p.m. It is the same area where a blaze destroyed a home last summer and where nine homes and more than 106,000 acres of brush were burned by a wildfire in 1996.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Meanwhile, a lightning-sparked wildfire that scorched nearly 18,000 acres of brush in eastern San Diego County was 49% contained Sunday, fire officials said.

More than 2,000 firefighters were battling the fire, which began July 16. Full containment was expected Wednesday.

More than 70 homes and 67 other buildings were in the area of the fire, but no residents were evacuated, said Laura Lowes, a fire information officer with the California Department of Forestry.