CARLSBAD — Personnel from several local fire agencies have gained control of a wildfire that cropped up in Carlsbad on Thursday afternoon near Denk Mountain, with residences under evacuation orders for a few hours along Rancho Santa Fe Road and San Elijo Road.
First responders began responding to the fire near Corte Claro and Calle Encino, known as the Claro Fire, around 2:46 p.m. The blaze was at one point measured at about 40 acres, according to the City of San Marcos.
As of 5 p.m., crews had stopped the advance of the fire, and evacuation orders were lifted around 5:30 p.m.
Evacuation orders were in place for residences bordered by San Elijo Road and South Rancho Santa Fe Road, including in the areas of Avenida Soledad, Dovetail Road, Paseo Plomo, Indus Way, Fallsview Road, Weatherwood Court, Shadetree Drive, and Sheridan Way.
Residents were directed to go to the temporary evacuation point at Stagecoach Park at 3420 Camino De Los Coches in Carlsbad.
CLARO FIRE: Evacuations ordered for area shown in this map. Temporary evacuation point established at Stagecoach Park in Carlsbad. Learn more: https://t.co/Qiwp9L7okl. pic.twitter.com/8MestuGl16
— City of San Marcos, California (@sanmarcoscity) June 12, 2025
Crews from the Carlsbad, Encinitas and San Marcos fire departments responded to the fire, along with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the Carlsbad Police Department.
No structures were believed to have been affected.
Residents are urged to download the Genasys Protect app for updated information. Evacuation information is also available at app.watchduty.org.
Avenida Amapola and Camino Junipero were closed while crews respond to the fire.
A group of middle school boys were mountain biking in the area when the fire began. Luke Tolmay said he was up on the mountain when he saw flames nearby.
“We were on the mountain, and we go up to that certain point up there, and then as we were up there it started getting really hot, and we saw around the corner, we saw the flames everywhere,” Tolmay said. “It just got so hot … you could feel it. Everybody’s lip just dried out.”
He headed down the mountain after seeing the flames and saw firetrucks and police vehicles arriving.
“It was just insane,” Tolmay said. “When we were there it wasn’t too big, but it got huge.”
Jordan Ingram contributed to this report.
1 comment
Thank you fire fighters! That was an amazingly fast and effective response. Precise coordination between air tankers, helicopters, fire trucks, and ground crews. It all came together very rapidly.