CAMP PENDLETON — Firefighters battled a wildfire for a second day Friday that has burned more than 2,000 acres at Camp Pendleton, prompting evacuations at the military base and forcing closures of stretches of Interstate 5.
Crews had yet to contain the blaze burning in the western portion of the northern San Diego County Marine Corps installation, according to Cal Fire.
“The fire remains active and continues to spread, with fire crossing containment lines on the northwest side,” the state agency reported shortly before 11 a.m. Friday. “Air and ground resources remain engaged in suppression efforts, with additional resources en route.”
About 90 minutes later, the California Highway Patrol reported that the fire’s continued spread had prompted a full closure of I-5 between Basilone Road and Vandegrift Boulevard. As of early afternoon, vegetation was burning on both sides of the freeway, according to Cal Fire.
Meanwhile, a separate wildfire erupted late Friday morning several miles north of the larger blaze at Camp Pendleton. The fire along southbound I-5 near San Onofre State Beach forced evacuations of oceanfront camping areas and grew to about 20 acres within two hours, according to the wildfire information service Watch Duty.
The larger blaze, dubbed the Henderson Fire, erupted shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Basilone and Las Pulgas roads and quickly spread toward populated areas of the military base, Cal Fire said.
About two hours later, the state agency identified the westward-moving fire as a threat to I-5.
Within 90 minutes of that notification, authorities had closed the freeway in both directions between Basilone Road and Harbor Drive. Video posted on a Cal Fire incident page showed heavy flames burning within feet of traffic lanes beneath utility poles.
Shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday, the CHP announced that I-5 was reopening, though officials warned that additional closures could be necessary if the fire again threatened motorists.
The wildfire also forced the closure of Las Pulgas Road between Brown Street and Stuart Mesa Road at Camp Pendleton. The base’s Las Pulgas Gate was closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles until further notice.
A shelter for people displaced by the fire was operating at Paige Field House on 13th Street at Camp Pendleton.
The cause of the Henderson Fire, which had burned an estimated 2,080 acres as of midday Friday, remained under investigation, Cal Fire reported.
