REGION — Firefighting personnel from North San Diego County are joining dozens of other agencies to battle devastating fires across the Los Angeles area, which have ripped through around 45 square miles as of Thursday afternoon.
Strong Santa Ana winds combined with dry conditions have allowed multiple fires to spread swiftly in the Los Angeles area, with the most destructive being the Palisades fire north of Santa Monica and the Eaton fire near Pasadena. The two blazes have destroyed more than 5,300 structures, including homes and businesses, and remain at 0% containment as of Thursday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.
The Palisades fire, described as “one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles” by the city’s fire chief Kristin Crowley, erupted Tuesday morning and grew to over 17,000 acres Thursday morning.
A second fire erupted in Eaton Canyon on Tuesday night and has consumed over 10,000 acres, including homes in the unincorporated Altadena neighborhood, causing five confirmed deaths. Over 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate since the fires began.
Strike teams and assistance units have been deployed to Los Angeles with personnel from the Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista, Escondido and Rancho Santa Fe fire departments and the North County Fire Protection District, mainly to assist in fighting the Palisades Fire. These include various brush and fire engines.
“Oceanside Fire Engine 6321 is proud to be part of a local strike team assisting our neighbors to the north in battling the Palisades fire,” the Oceanside Fire Department said on social media on Wednesday.
The North County Fire Protection District, which covers the areas of Fallbrook, Bonsall and Rainbow, has sent three individuals as part of a REMS (Rescue Extrication Module Support) team. This team will provide medical care to firefighters injured or ill while fighting the Palisades fire.
Those from San Diego County are joining firefighters from Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties in fighting the Palisades and Eaton fires. Over 4,700 personnel from CAL FIRE are also responding.
“We are putting all available resources behind fighting these wildfires, including leveraging local and federal assets. California has thousands of boots on the ground working to combat these fires. The state is leaving no stone unturned to protect California communities,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Wednesday statement.
Panic in the LA area has grown as three other smaller fires broke out. The Sunset fire flared up in Hollywood Hills on Wednesday, and two smaller fires — the Hurst fire near Santa Clarita and the Lidia fire near Ravenna — flared up Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, and are now partially contained.
Staff with the San Diego Humane Society have also been doing their part to assist with the impacts of the fires, with four staff members heading to Pasadena on Wednesday.
“Earlier today, Pasadena Humane Society reached out to us for support in freeing up space in their shelter, so they could support their community evacuations from the nearby Eaton Fire,” the San Diego Humane Society said on Wednesday.
San Diego Humane staff are planning to return with 15-20 dogs that were already awaiting adoption and make them available for adoption to local families, the organization said.
San Diego conditions
In San Diego County, a Red Flag Warning — indicating that conditions are ideal for the rapid spread of wildland fire — has been issued through Friday evening for the San Diego County Inland Valleys, including Julian, Ramona, Escondido, Descanso, Fallbrook, Pala, Bonsall, and parts of Vista and San Marcos.
Strong winds are expected Thursday night through Friday morning, particularly in the San Diego County Mountains, where they may reach 70 to 80 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Right now, the focus for local fire departments is deploying the personnel they can to assist in Los Angeles while ensuring they can respond to any fires that pop up in San Diego County.
“We’re dispersing personnel so that we can make sure we’re helping out our neighbors [in Los Angeles], but at the same time, keeping enough personnel to staff additional resources in case something breaks around the San Diego County area,” said Brian MacMillan, deputy fire chief at the North County Fire Protection District.
San Diego Gas & Electric has notified customers that it may shut off power to prevent the potential for fires caused by downed power lines. As of Thursday afternoon, public safety power shutoffs were active near Palomar Mountain and Descanso.
SDG&E has indicated that around 73,000 customers are at risk of being affected in various parts of north and east county through Friday night, including parts of Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho Bernardo, Olivenhain, Poway and Valley Center. For more information, visit sdge.com/wildfire-safety/public-safety-power-shutoffs.
San Diego County residents are encouraged to monitor AlertSanDiego for more information about evacuations and sign up for alerts via cell phone and email at alertsandiego.org.
