Caliente Fire: 450 Acres, Evacuation Orders In Otay Mesa

SAN DIEGO — A brush fire burning Thursday near an apartment complex and a high school in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego scorched hundreds of acres and prompted evacuation orders.

The blaze, called the Caliente Fire, sparked shortly before noon off the 5300 block of Airway Road, near Caliente Avenue in Otay Mesa, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Ground crews and personnel aboard water-dropping helicopters fought the flames, which began spreading just east of San Ysidro High School and burned near rows of apartments just south of state Route 905.

By 6 p.m., the fire had grown to about 450 acres and was 10 percent contained, officials said. State and federal firefighters worked with city crews to battle the blaze.

The fire destroyed stacks of wooden pallets at an industrial yard off Cactus Road, which caused nearby stored propane tanks to explode and sent a thick column of black smoke into the sky. Officials said no structures were lost, however, and no injuries were reported.

Authorities evacuated about 70 homes, officials said. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for areas south of Saint Andrews Avenue, west of La Media Road and east of Cactus Road, most of which are commercial and industrial. Evacuation warnings had previously been issued for people from SR-905 to the U.S.-Mexico Border and from Cactus Road to the area of La Media.

Southwestern College Higher Education Center at Otay Mesa was evacuated and classes were canceled for the rest of the day.

A temporary evacuation point was established at San Ysidro High School at 5353 Airway Road in San Diego.

A Sig-alert was issued for the areas of southbound Brittania and La Media. Cross Border Xpress was closed to northbound and southbound traffic. Police urged motorists to avoid the area if possible.

The cause of the fire was unknown.

– City News Service contributed to this report.