Wildfire — San Diego County Valleys, California

2007-10-21 to 2007-10-31 · San Diego County Valleys, California

Wider weather episode

The Witch Creek Fire was by far the largest of the October 2007 wildfires. The fire started around 12:35 pm on the 21st in Witch Creek Canyon near Santa Ysabel and quickly spread west to Ramona. By the morning of the 22nd, strong Santa Ana winds had pushed the fire into Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Escondido, causing significant damage. From there the fire jumped over Interstate 15 and continued west, causing additional damage in Lake Hodges, 4S Ranch, Del Dios and Rancho Santa Fe. Several hundred-thousand people were informed of mandatory evacuation orders via a reverse 911 system. The fire destroyed 1,125 homes, 509 outbuildings, and 239 vehicles. An additional 77 homes and 25 outbuildings were damaged. An older couple was killed in their home on Highland Valley Road when fire raced through their property during the early morning hours of the 22nd. The married couple next door nearly suffered the same fate, but survived the fire by jumping into their swimming pool as their home burned down. At least 40 firefighters and 2 civilians were injured during the fire. A total of 197,990 acres of brush, grasslands, and oak savannah was burned. The cause of the fire was determined to be down power lines. The Witch Fire cost $18M to fight and was one of thirteen large, wind-driven wildfires to impact the San Diego CWA in late October.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 62766. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.