Fire Scorches Thousands Of Acres In Barrett Junction Area Of San Diego

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — A wildfire blackened hundreds of acres, destroyed at least one structure, forced evacuations and prompted road closures Wednesday in rural eastern San Diego County.

The blaze sparked around 2:15 p.m. off Barrett Lake Road and state Route 94 in the Barrett Junction area, southeast of Dulzura, according to Cal Fire San Diego. By 5 p.m., the fire, which officials called the Border 32 Fire, had spread 1,400 acres and destroyed one structure.

As of 10 p.m., the fire had scorched 4,243 acres and was 5 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.

"The fire continues to threaten the communities of Dulzura, Potrero and Campo," county spokesperson Chuck Westerheide said. "Multiple agencies remain on scene fighting the fire and protecting homes."

Evacuations were ordered for the Barrett Lake Road area, Coyote Holler Road area and Round Potrero Road near Potrero and Dulzura, according to the county. View an interactive map of the evacuation area.

"This is an evacuation order; an evacuation order requires immediate movement out of the affected area due to an imminent threat to life," Westerheide said. "If you need emergency assistance with evacuation, call 911."

More than 400 San Diego Gas & Electric customers in the area near the blaze were without power, according to the county. SDG&E reported the outage at 8 p.m. and said the fire damaged the electric system.

Schools in the Jamul-Dulzura Union and Mountain Empire Unified school districts will be closed on Thursday due to the fire, the San Diego County Office of Education announced.

The Tecate Port of Entry was closed due to the fire, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. SR-94 was also shut down between Forrest Gate Road in Campo and Otay Lakes Road in Dulzura. Barrett School Road was closed at SR-94.

Temporary evacuation points were established at Jamul Casino at 14145 Campo Road in Jamul and Camp Lockett Event and Equestrian Facility at 799 Forrest Gate Road in Campo.

An overnight evacuation shelter opened at Mountain Empire High School at 3305 Buckman Springs Road in Pine Valley. Evacuees with large animals were instructed to go to San Diego County Department of Animal Services at 5821 Sweetwater Road in Bonita. The San Diego Humane Society was helping with small animal and pet evacuations at Mountain Empire High School.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.