Cristianitos Fire Spreads To 760 Acres At Camp Pendleton, San Clemente; Crews Reach 70% Containment

CAMP PENDLETON, CA – A rapidly spreading brush fire that sparked Wednesday on Camp Pendleton continued to burn through Thursday, scorching hundreds of acres, moving into San Clemente and threatening nearby homes and businesses.

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, the so-called Cristianitos Fire has burned 760 acres, 80 of which are located in San Clemente, and is 70 percent contained, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

Crews will continue to battle the blaze Thursday evening and Friday, officials said.

The fire was first reported about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday near San Mateo Campground along Cristianitos Road, according to Camp Pendleton's Public Affairs Office.

Base officials said the blaze was 10 to 15 acres shortly before 6:30 p.m. By 8 p.m., the fire had spread to 400 acres.

Firefighters worked overnight Wednesday to stop the forward progression of the wildfire. Still, the blaze that was once confined to Camp Pendleton base began burning San Clemente property, said Capt. Larry Kurtz of Orange County Fire Authority.

"We expected the fire to creep onto San Clemente property," Kurtz told Patch.

The fire threatened homes, businesses and an animal shelter overnight in San Clemente, Kurtz said.

Two employees of the San Clemente-Dana Point Animal Shelter spent the night at the facility to ensure the safety of the animals and be prepared to evacuate, but no evacuations were necessary, according to city officials.

By 6 a.m. Thursday, the fire was just 10 percent contained. Kurtz said there were no evacuation orders, no lost structures and no reported injuries.

"There are some neighborhoods threatened, but we have plenty of resources," Kurtz said.

Although it was initially reported that more than 350 military and civilian firefighters fought the flames, Kurtz revised that figure Thursday to just over 200 firefighters. Camp Pendleton and Orange County fire crews were assisted by Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, San Diego County Fire Authority and various city fire agencies, he said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

This is a developing story. Please refresh this page for updates. Details may change as more information becomes available.

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Cristianitos Fire: 400-Acre Brush Fire Burns At Camp Pendleton, Threatens Homes In San Clemente

Also see:

Smoke Advisory Issued To San Clemente, Pendleton Residents

Photos credit Orange County Fire Authority

Editors note: The Cristianitos Fire is also trending on Twitter under #Christianitosfire.