San Diego County brush fire grows; 20 homes destroyed
The brush fire in eastern San Diego County has burned 2,000 acres, destroyed 20 homes and damaged 10 others, Cal Fire reported Monday morning.
The so-called Shockey fire broke out Sunday in an area east of Campo near the U.S.-Mexico border. Evacuations have been ordered as the blaze is being fought by hundreds of firefighters, 57 engines and air tankers and water-dropping helicopters.
There were no immediate reports of injury, and the cause of the fire was under investigation.
Cal Fire Capt. Mike Mohler told Fox 5 San Diego on Sunday that the weather contributed to the fire’s growth. By early Sunday evening, temperatures were in the high 80s and winds were blowing at around 20 mph.
Authorities from their command center at Golden Acorn Casino off Interstate 8 began issuing mandatory evacuation orders around 2:30 p.m. Sunday for residents of about 80 homes in the Tierra del Sol, Jewel Valley and Boulevard areas.
The orders were delivered largely via the county’s reverse 911 system, which phones residents with instructions to leave their homes immediately. An evacuation center has been set up at Mountain Empire High School.
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