Wildfire Hazards Linger In San Diego Region

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — Heightened — though dwindling — wildfire hazards persisted in the San Diego area for a third day Friday amid a late-autumn spell of Santa Ana winds and bone-dry air.

While still posing immediate combustion hazards across the rain-starved county, the gusty conditions had weakened enough by late Friday morning to prompt the National Weather Service to rescind a "red flag" fire warning it had issued for the region Wednesday.

San Diego Gas & Electric, likewise, continued to restore electrical service to areas affected by planned public-safety blackouts earlier in the week. As of midday, however, 30,029 addresses — mostly in the East County — remained without power, down from a high of about 73,000 on Thursday morning.

To help those affected by the blackouts, SDG&E opened community resource centers in Descanso, Lake Morena, Pine Valley, Julian, Fallbrook, Dulzura, Warner Springs, Potrero, Ramona and Valley Center. They were scheduled to remain open until 10 Friday evening and offer access to water, WiFi, ice, snacks, phone and medical device charging, water trucks for livestock and up-to-date information on outages.

Due to the power outages, campuses in the following school districts were closed for the day: Alpine Union, Dehesa, Valley Center-Pauma Unified and Warner Unified, according to the San Diego County Office of Education. The following individual schools also were shuttered: Jamacha Elementary, Eucalyptus Hills and Lakeside Farms.

Modestly dry and easterly wind-dominated conditions are expected to continue through the weekend, followed by another, stronger Santa Ana pattern on Monday and into Tuesday, and one more late next workweek, according to the NWS.

Also see:

Crews Subdue 30-Acre Willow Fire In Rancho San Diego

— City News Service