West Fire: 400 Acres Burned, Homes Destroyed In Alpine

ALPINE, CA – A rapidly-spreading wildfire sparked Friday in Alpine, scorching hundreds of acres, destroying homes, forcing evacuations and prompting Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a local state of emergency.

The blaze, called the West Fire, broke out around 11:30 a.m. alongside eastbound Interstate 8 at West Willows Road, near Viejas Casino & Resort, according to officials. Within about 30 minutes, the flames had burned roughly 15 acres. By 4 p.m., the fire had scorched 400 acres and was 5 percent contained. An hour later, crews had halted the spread of the flames.

Crews from Cal Fire, Cleveland National Forest, Alpine Fire Protection District and other agencies attacked the blaze on the ground and aboard firefighting aircraft. San Diego Gas & Electric's Aircrane also assisted the firefighting efforts.

An Alpine firefighter was injured in the blaze and suffered burns to the side of his face, officials said. He was expected to be hospitalized overnight and released Saturday morning. No other injuries were reported.

Several homes were destroyed in the fire, according to officials. Authorities urged residents behind the Albertsons on 2955 Alpine Blvd. to immediately evacuate the area, including residents of Alpine Oaks Estates.

As of Friday evening, Cal Fire issued evacuation orders for residents on Tavern Road at Alpine Boulevard, east to Viejas Creek Trail, south to Japatul Road, west to Tavern Road and all secondary roads within these boundaries. An evacuation warning was issued for residents on Alpine Heights Road and all secondary roads Alpine Heights Road.

At the height of the blaze, about 3,500 homes and businesses in the area of the wildfire were without power, according to San Diego Gas & Electric.

Some of those addresses were served by a circuit that the utility decided to deactivate as a precaution, and the rest lost service due to fire-related equipment damage, SDG&E spokesman Wes Jones said. As of 6:30 p.m., repair crews had restored power to all but 190 of the affected customers.

As a precaution, the county's Department of Environmental Health issued a boil water advisory for residents of Alpine Oaks Estates due to fire damage to the water system. The water system serves 66 mobile home park spaces, a club house, laundry room and the swimming pool. The advisory will remain in effect until water is restored and laboratory analytical results confirm the absence of bacteria in the water supply.

The American Red Cross opened an overnight evacuation shelter at Los Coches Creek Middle School at 9669 Dunbar Lane in El Cajon. A temporary evacuation site in a parking lot at Viejas Casino was closed Friday evening.

The Lakeside Rodeo was accepting large animals and livestock of residents in threatened neighborhoods. The rodeo grounds are located at 12584 Mapleview St. in Lakeside. People needing assistance with large animal evacuations were encouraged to contact the San Diego County Department of Animal Services at 619-498-2361.

Authorities initially closed two eastbound I-8 lanes in the area. All lanes were later reopened, according to Caltrans. The I-8 eastbound on-ramp from Tavern Road and I-8 eastbound off-ramp to West Willows Road remained closed due to the fire.

The following roads were closed in the Alpine area: Tavern Road at South Gate Road; Alpine Boulevard at Willows Road; Via Viejas at South Grade to eastbound traffic; Scenic View at South Grade Road; Tavern Road off-ramp at West Willow Road; Arnold Way at Tavern Road; Alpine Boulevard at Tavern Road; Eltinge Road at South Grade Road; and West Victoria at Victoria Cir.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

The blaze sparked amid a record-breaking heat wave in San Diego County. Three other fires broke out Friday in Camp Pendleton, Dulzura and Miramar. The county declared a local emergency due to the fires. Gov. Jerry Brown later issued an emergency proclamation for the county due to the West Fire.

More than 60 wildfires were burning in California and 12 other states. Click here for details.

Also see:

• Record-Breaking Heat Expected In San Diego County
• Building Fire Burns Structure, Threatens Others In Dulzura
• Brush Fire Prompts Evacuations On Camp Pendleton
• Brush Fire Burns In Miramar

Image via Alpine Sheriff's Station