Wildfire — San Diego County Valleys, California

2014-05-14 to 2014-05-15 · San Diego County Valleys, California

Event narrative

The Highway Fire, near Bonsall and Fallbrook, started at 1200 PST on the 14th near Interstate 15 and California State Route 76, near Old Highway 395 in the Deer Springs area. Several schools and about 600 residents were evacuated. Olive Hill Road was closed from Mission to Highway 76 due to wildfire, evacuating the Olive Hill area. Highway 15 was also closed in both directions, along with old 395/Highway 76. By 1700 PST on the 15th, the fire was 100% contained, after burning 441 acres. No homes were damages or destroyed and no injuries reported. The heavy fuels in this area had not burned since the Gopher Canyon Fire in 1970. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Wider weather episode

Mid-May was marked by a period of very hot, dry and windy conditions. This included an unusually strong Santa Ana wind event with a 1036 mb surface high over the northern Great Basin. Wind speeds were as high as 40-45 mph in SW California and 60 to 80 mph in the foothills and mountains. Over the course of four days, 8 major fires raged across San Diego County due to various causes. Several other smaller brush fires, including the Freeway Fire (56 acres near Naval Weapons Station on Camp Pendleton). At one point on the 15th, 9 fires were burning at once, many in and around residential/populated areas of north San Diego County. In total, these fires burned just under 27,000 acres, causing over $50 million in property damage and the cost to fight the fires themselves. Only minor injuries were reported and no deaths directly attributed to the fires.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 522923. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.