Firefighters gain upper hand over San Diego County fire after 100 acres are charred

After quickly assigning nearly 200 firefighters and several helicopters and planes to battle a vegetation fire Sunday afternoon near the U.S.-Mexico border, Cal Fire officials reported that they had halted the spread of the blaze within three hours.

The fire was reported shortly before 11:30 a.m. and quickly charred about 100 acres of vegetation southeast of Otay Lake, on the west side of the Otay Mountain Wilderness area.

Four separate fires quickly became one, said Cal Fire Capt. Thomas Shoots. No homes were immediately threatened.

After the first crews arrived, officials ordered an additional 10 engines. Six helicopters and multiple fixed-wing aircraft also were assigned to the fire, Shoots said shortly after 12:30 p.m.

It was 5% contained as of 1:15 p.m. By 2:15 p.m., officials reported that “fire spread has been stopped,” although dozens of firefighters continued to work on knocking down the flames.

Officials said the fire was located about 1.5 miles south of Otay Lakes Road, and the terrain made it difficult for crews to reach the site.

Cal Fire officials were working with officials from the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because the blaze was on or adjacent to federal land, Shoots said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.