Crews halt spread of fast-moving fire west of Ramona at 250 acres; no structures damaged

Firefighters halted a quick-moving wildfire Thursday afternoon after it erupted west of Ramona and rapidly charred roughly 250 acres of open vegetation, authorities said.

Dubbed the Rangeland Fire, it was first reported at 15 acres about 1:15 p.m. south of state Route 78, according to Cal Fire San Diego. Authorities said it initially threatened structures on Rangeland Road, though no structures were ultimately damaged.

A firefighter sustained a minor injury, Cal Fire spokesman Kendal Bortisser said.

The flames spread quickly, blackening about 150 acres of rugged, mountainous terrain within about an hour, and ultimately growing to about 250 acres, Bortisser said. Ground crews worked to dig out lines on the edge of the burn area as air tankers and helicopters dropped water and retardant on the flames from the sky.

By 4:20 p.m., fire crews had stopped the forward spread of the flames and had the blaze 30 percent contained, Cal Fire reported. About three hours later, it was 60 percent contained.

Cal Fire officials had tweeted at 1:45 p.m. that there was “an immediate structure threat to the area of Rangeland Road,” but about an hour later, authorities said the threat had been mitigated.

The blaze broke out for unknown reasons near the San Pasqual Valley close to where the Pasqual Fire broke out last month east of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. That blaze charred 365 acres but did not damage any structures.

Law enforcement shut down SR-78 between Bandy Canyon Road in Escondido and Weekend Villa Road in Ramona as firefighters went to work. The highway was expected to remain closed until 10 p.m. Thursday.

SR-78 was expected to be reduced to one lane between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday as crews continue to mop up.

“Please drive (carefully),” the state firefighting agency tweeted. “Firefighters will still be working in the area!”

Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

(619) 293-1710

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com

UPDATES:

8:05 p.m.: This article was updated with a new size estimate, new containment figure and information about the highway closure.

5:45 p.m.: This article and its headline were updated with details about the spread and containment of the fire.

This article was originally published at 2:35 p.m.