CAMP PENDLETON, CA - Firefighters strove for a second day Friday to corral a wildfire that has blackened more than 2,000 acres on the grounds of Camp Pendleton, prompting evacuations at the Oceanside-area military base and forcing closures of stretches of Interstate 5.
Crews have yet to establish any containment of the blaze burning in the western reaches 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 ongoing growth of the burn zone had prompted a full closure of I-5 between Basilone Road and Vandegrift Boulevard. As of early afternoon, vegetation was ablaze on both sides of the freeway, according to Cal Fire.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m. Friday, the CHP advised that the northbound lanes of the interstate were open again. The closure remained in effect, however, on the southbound side.
Adding to emergency crews' urgent fire-suppression workload in the area, a separate blaze erupted late Friday morning several miles north of the large one burning at Camp Pendleton. The fire alongside southbound Interstate 5 near San Onofre State Beach forced evacuations of oceanfront camping areas and grew to about 20 acres in size within about two hours, according to the wildfire information service Watch Duty.
The Camp Pendleton blaze, dubbed the Henderson Fire, erupted shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Basilone and Las Pulgas roads and rapidly swept dangerously close to populated areas of the military base, according to Cal Fire.
About two hours later, an incident update from the state agency identified the westward-advancing fire as a "threat to Interstate 5."
Within 90 minutes of that notification, authorities had shut down the freeway in both directions between Basilone Road and Harbor Drive. Video shot from inside a vehicle traveling on an unidentified roadway in the area and posted on a Cal Fire incident page showed heavy flames burning to within feet of the edge of the traffic lanes directly underneath utility poles.
Shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday, the California Highway Patrol advised that it was reopening I-5, though officials cautioned that the regional route might have to be closed again in the event of additional threats to commuter traffic due to the blaze.
The wildfire also forced a closure of Las Pulgas Road on the grounds of Camp Pendleton between Brown Street and Stuart Mesa Road. Additionally, the Las Pulgas Gate to the base was shut down to all traffic except emergency vehicles until further notice.
A shelter for those displaced by the fire was in operation at Paige Field House on 13th Street at Camp Pendleton.
The cause of the blaze, which was mapped at an estimated 2,080 acres as of midday Friday, was under investigation, Cal Fire reported.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
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