Heavy smoke from brush fires sparks health warnings across region
As weary firefighters battled stubborn brush fires for a fourth day Friday, billowing black smoke drifted northward, causing health warnings throughout much of Southern California.
By mid-afternoon, the air hanging stagnantly over Los Angeles was considered “unhealthy” by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, triggering an advisory for anyone outdoors to avoid prolonged strenuous activity.
Four of the five regions in the nation with the worst air quality Saturday are forecast to be in California and Arizona — all affected by the brush fires in northern San Diego County, according to AirNow, a website that combines data from county, state and federal air-quality agencies nationwide.
After days of Santa Ana winds pushing the smoke and ash out to sea, a pressure system has reversed the wind, sending smoke back toward land, according to the National Weather Service.
Meanwhile, the 11 fires that began with the Bernardo fire Tuesday in San Diego have now burned nearly 20,000 acres, county officials announced late Friday.
Of those 11, four still were not contained: the 2,520-acre Cocos fire in San Marcos, the 1,550-acre Bernardo fire and two fires on military bases on the northern edge of the county.
Hundreds of people are still under mandatory evacuation orders near the Cocos fire, which has spread to Harmony Grove and Elfin Forest, and east to Escondido.
Officials have listed only three structures as destroyed but that number will increase when a fuller tally is released. The Poinsettia fire in Carlsbad, now contained at 400 acres, destroyed eight single-family homes and an 18-unit apartment complex.
The largest fires still uncontained are the 8,000-acre Las Pulgas fire at Camp Pendleton and the 6,500-acre Tomahawk fire at the Naval Weapons Station Fallbrook adjacent to Camp Pendleton.
The two fires sent out plumes of smoke but there was no indication either fire will move beyond the base or damage structures, said Cal Fire San Diego Deputy Chief Kelly Zombro. A third fire broke out mid-afternoon Friday at Camp Pendleton.
In San Marcos, firefighters reported making progress on the Cocos fire. “Right now the wind is in our favor,” Zombro said. More than 1,000 firefighters battled the blaze.
San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors, said that although the worst may have passed “the difficult days for San Diegans are not over.”
Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis said three arson-related arrests have been made. Two teenagers were arrested in Escondido for trying to start two small fires, and an adult was arrested in Oceanside for “adding” to a small brush fire. None of the three are suspected in the larger fires, she said.
San Diego police arrested a looting suspect at a home where the owners had been ordered to evacuate because of the Cocos fire.
Investigators have concluded the Bernardo fire was caused by a backhoe during an excavation project, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. No causes have been determined for the other fires and a fire task force has appealed to the public for information.
In San Marcos, James Harkins, 72, a retired Marine, surveyed his two-story house perched on a hilltop. His home was untouched by the fire but some of his neighbors were not as lucky.
“If you live in the country,” he said, “you take on certain responsibilities.”
When his beloved dog Sergeant died a year ago, he said, “I did a risk assessment and I didn’t have anything to lose.”
Harkins decided to stay to protect his “castle,” and to help keep the flames from reaching his neighbors’ homes. He used a garden hose to keep the flames at bay, with firefighters’ help.
He gestured toward the charred remains of his 1969 Chevrolet Kingswood station wagon and the bare, ashen hillside beyond.
Harkins’ neighbors Sherri and David Roberts looked at the rubble of their home. When Sherri evacuated with their son, David stayed behind to hose down as much of the house as possible, but ultimately had to flee as the flames approached.
“I mean, who knows — maybe if I’d stayed 15 minutes longer, or five minutes longer — maybe I could have saved it,” David Roberts said sadly, but quickly added, “It’s not worth my life.”
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