Evacuations Ordered In Oceanside Brush Fire

OCEANSIDE, CA — A brush fire broke out in Oceanside Sunday afternoon, scorching 75 acres and forcing residents in the surrounding neighborhood to evacuate.

The forward progress of the blaze was stopped Sunday with no loss of structures, the Oceanside Fire Department said. The evacuation order was lifted at 5:24 p.m., but non-residents were asked to avoid the area for the next several hours while first responders continue to work on the scene, according to the Oceanside Fire Department.

Residents in the 300 block of Rimhurst Court, all of Wala Drive and the 300 block of Shadowtree in Oceanside had been asked to evacuate out of an abundance of caution, as firefighters battled the brush fire dubbed the Wala Fire burning northwest of 800 Wala Drive.

Oceanside police officers went door-to-door notifying residents on Spring Brook and Silver Ridge courts of the need to evacuate.

An evacuation center was set up at El Camino High School for all residents in need.

Ground and air crews mounted an aggressive effort to keep the blaze from reaching homes. Two air tankers dropped fire retardant along the hillside leading up to the nearest homes. Firefighters from the OFD, Cal Fire San Diego, the North County Fire Protection District, Vista, Encinitas and Carlsbad are also responding.

The fire broke out at about 12:30 p.m. along Wala Drive, a residential street along the southeast border of Camp Pendleton. Oceanside firefighters and police department officers were called to the scene of the wildfire shortly before 1 p.m., the Oceanside Police Department said in an alert.

"Expect some road closures for Fire trucks and equipment," the Oceanside Police Department said in its alert notification.

A massive plume of black smoke quickly blanketed the area and could be seen for miles around.

Firefighters were dealing with near-critical fire conditions Sunday afternoon.

The National Weather Service warned that "Strong westerly winds accompanying the trough over the mountains and deserts will combine with low relative humidity, to create near critical fire weather conditions."

City News Service contributed to this report.