Fire Burns in San Diego College District – NBC 7 San Diego

A wildfire in the college area grew quickly Thursday afternoon and threatened structures in the area, prompting evacuations.

The brush fire broke out around 1:30 p.m. on the south side of Montezuma Road — an area filled with old, dead palm trees — and quickly crossed the road and began spreading uphill, San Diego Fire Rescue spokeswoman Monica Muñoz said.

“It’s like a war zone out here,” said one resident who evacuated on foot along Montezuma Road. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. From SDSU I could see very dark smoke and some of the flames, but I didn’t realize how catastrophic it was.”

Firefighters from multiple agencies quickly responded as the flames sent a plume of smoke over the college and San Diego area. Several aerial firefighting units responded to the scene and dropped fire retardants to prevent the fire from spreading further.

By 2:45 p.m., the fire was 37 acres and evacuations began, although firefighters appeared to have the upper hand in the battle.

“I feel like we can handle this,” Munoz said around 3:15 p.m. “Right now I can’t tell you exactly when it will come out, but I feel confident.”

The main areas of concern for firefighters were the Talmadge area and Alverado Estates, Muñoz said. Both areas are located on hilltops, and fires tend to spread quickly up the hillsides.

At least one home had damage to its patio, but a full estimate of how much damage the fire caused across the 27-acre fire is not yet known.

Crews were expected to remain on scene overnight, with additional crews arriving periodically to assist.

NBC 7’s Dave Summers spoke with residents who were in the mandatory evacuation zone as the Fairmont Fire spread through the college grounds.

Evacuation

San Diego police evacuated homes near the canyon on Montezuma Road, which was closed in both directions.

An evacuation point has also been set up at the Allied Gardens Recreation Center (5155 Greenbrier Ave, SD, 92120).

Areas subject to mandatory evacuation orders:

• South of Alvarado Canyon Road
• West of Hewlett Dr.
• North of Monroe Avenue
• East of Montezuma
• If you are in the area bordering these streets, please evacuate.

Hardy Elementary School at 5420 Montezuma Rd. was also evacuated. Students were taken to Viejas Arena, and parents heading to pick up their children were asked to avoid College Avenue.

Shortly after the fire broke out, SDPD said they went door-to-door on Lucille, Lila and 49th streets warning people to leave.

A resident who was not evacuated and lives across the street from Lucille told NBC 7 he saw the fire spreading.

“People know what to do here because it’s a constant danger,” the resident said. “They knew they had to go into the neighborhood and get their neighbors out. We have a lot of elderly people here, a lot of pets, so we got the elderly out, got the pets out and moved them to safety.”

“You live in a canyon, you take that risk and you know there’s always danger.”

Muñoz said anyone who feels uncomfortable, whether a mandatory evacuation is required or not, should not hesitate to go to the evacuation point at the Allied Gardens Recreation Center.

The San Diego Police Department is currently battling a large and growing fire in the college area.

Areas marked in pink on the map above are currently under evacuation orders.

evacuation point

Allied Gardens Recreation Center (5155 Greenbrier Ave, SD, 92120) pic.twitter.com/fgqOkmFxv0

— San Diego Police Department (@SanDiegoPD) October 31, 2024

Road closures

Several roads are closed in the area and authorities are urging people to avoid the area.

Northbound traffic from Fairmount Avenue to eastbound Montezuma is closed, according to San Diego police. Montezuma Road was closed in both directions.

Other road closures include:

• Callwood between Monroe and Montezuma.
• Montezuma between Fairmont and 55th Street.
• Fairmont from I-8 to Aldine.
• Camino del Rio south to Fairmont.
• Eastbound 8 exit Fairmont.

San Diego State University told students there is no threat to the campus or their community, but traffic delays are to be expected. The evacuation order may affect surrounding areas but did not affect the campus, which was still open and holding classes, the university said.

Traffic was particularly heavy on Interstate 8, prompting a SigAlert in the eastbound lanes.

MTS reported this. The fire affected several bus routesincluding routes 11, 13, 14 and 955.

How did the fire start?

SDPD told NBC 7 the fire is believed to have started from a palm tree, but the cause is still unknown.

The fire started soon after another fire in Spring Valley earlier in the day. this caused some evacuations.

Resources from several different agencies responded to help fight the fire, including the Lakeside, Santee, Miramar and Cal Fire fire departments.

“That’s what we do: we help each other,” Muñoz said. “We have a great relationship in this county between our fire departments. We never worry that someone else won’t be able to help us.”

How does weather affect fire?

NBC 7 meteorologist Francella Perez said the fire was creating its own wind, especially because the fire was moving up the canyon.

Wind speeds were to the firefighters’ advantage, Perez said, with only about 5 mph and no Santa Ana winds to contend with. But the humidity was very low – between the 20th and 30th percentile.

Muñoz said that although the wind speed was low, it changed direction quickly, making it difficult to fight the fire.

Check back here for more details on this breaking news. – Ed.