| CNN | - |
Carlsbad,
California (CNN) -- Southern California firefighters were fighting five
wildfires Wednesday in and around San Diego, prompting at least 23,000
evacuation notices to residents, businesses, schools and parts of a
Marine Corps installation.
S. California wildfires spur mass evacuations as wind whips flames
updated 7:04 PM EDT, Wed May 14, 2014
A firefighter sprays water onto a
fully engulfed home in Carlsbad, California, on Wednesday, May 14. A
couple of wildfires have forced evacuations in San Diego County after a
high-pressure system brought unseasonable heat and gusty winds to the
parched state.
HIDE CAPTION
California wildfires
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: San Onofre nuclear power plant is evacuated as a precaution
- NEW: Carlsbad alone issues 23,000 evacuation notices, most of them mandatory
- NEW: "It was beyond anything you've ever seen before," witness says of fire
- NEW: Wildfire burns 700 acres on Camp Pendleton, a Marine base
San Diego County proclaimed a local emergency
Wednesday afternoon due to "at least five wildland fires burning," the
county said. At least 20 structures were destroyed. The emergency allows
the county to more easily access state and federal resources.
Statewide drought, hot,
dry Santa Ana winds, low humidity and 90-degree-plus temperatures
conspired to quintuple the number of wildfires Wednesday, which began
with 350 firefighters fighting a 1,500-acre wildfire in San Diego.
But by noon, a second
fire had erupted 20 miles away in Carlsbad, burning 100 acres and
prompting the evacuation of thousands of people and a resort.
Then, a third ignited on
Camp Pendleton, a training base, where a 700-acre fire led to the
evacuations of the military's O'Neill Heights Housing, the De Luz Child
Development Center and Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School, the Marines
said.
Hot winds fan San Diego-area wildfire
Another fire burned in
the community of Fallbrook, adjacent to the military post. Camp
Pendleton is the West Coast boot camp for enlistees. Details on the
fifth fire were not immediately available.
Southern California
Edison has executed a precautionary evacuation of the San Onofre nuclear
power plant, SCE spokewoman Maureen Brown said. "There is no safety
threat as a result of the nearby Camp Pendleton fires," she said.
The ferocious fires made for sensational, disturbing viewing.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my
gosh!" California resident Kristin Michalec said on a video she shared
with CNN as she drove through raging flames in Carlsbad, near where she
lives.
"It was so hard to see because of the thick smoke," she later told CNN in an interview.
Rich Breeze saw a burning house explode in Carlsbad.
"No one hurt that I know
of. Everyone was out of the house at the time," he said. "We were just
right there when it exploded. It was just super intense.
"The fire was just incredible. It was beyond anything you've ever seen before," he said.
Jay Ringgold, an
information technology manager in Carlsbad, smelled the smoke easily.
Santa Ana winds, also called devil winds, whipped up the fires.
"People were very
surprised that it came that close to the business district. There are a
lot of big companies there -- near that is a brush area and homes,"
Ringgold said. "Everyone was panicking and wanting to get out of there."
San Diego fire officials
were trying to spare some of their crews to assist Carlsbad, where a
100-acre wildfire prompted a mandatory evacuation.
"We're trying to free
resources to send to Carlsbad, which also has a serious fire going on
and is just across the freeway," said San Diego Fire Department
spokesman Lee Swanson.
"Humidity is 3 to 4%, and it's about 100 degrees," he added.
Carlsbad officials said
Wednesday afternoon that "mandatory evacuations are in progress" in that
city's so-called Poinsettia Fire.
San Diego County said
more than 11,000 residents, businesses and cell phones in Carlsbad were
notified to evacuate, but an exact number wasn't immediately available,
the county said on Twitter.
The Poinsettia Fire also
prompted the evacuation of amusement park rides at Legoland in
Carlsbad, the resort said on its Facebook page. Carlsbad officials said
they alone issued 23,000 evacuation notices, including to three schools.
Most of those notices
were mandatory, with the remainder as advisory, said Carlsbad Fire Chief
Michael Davis. Fifteen homes were damages or destroyed, he said.
By mid-afternoon Wednesday, the forward progress of Carlsbad's wildfire was "stopped," Davis said.
In his 27 years in the
fire service, he's never seen California's wildfire season start so
early, Davis said. That season typically begins in October or so, he
said.
Firefighters were
igniting backfires in hills as a preventive measure against the wildfire
and any possible advances on a residential neighborhood.
"This is extreme. This
has gone from dry conditions to volatile conditions," said a Carlsbad
firefighter after using a torch to ignite backfire. "This isn't
something we don't normally see until November or September."
Back at the San Diego
fire, authorities were concerned that the Santa Ana winds would set back
their efforts since Tuesday morning to contain the wildfire, which
improved overnight to 25% from 5%, said Cal Fire incident commander Ray
Chaney.
The fire has burned
1,584 acres and prompted an evacuation Tuesday of 5,000 homes in San
Diego and selected areas, authorities said. By Tuesday night, those
residents had an "orderly return" to their homes, San Diego Police Chief
Shelley Zimmerman said.
As of Wednesday morning,
no structures had been damaged, and only two minor injuries -- for
smoke exposure and heat-related illness -- had been reported, Chaney
said.
In addition to the Santa Ana winds, 350 firefighters were expecting single-digit humidity, Chaney said.
"It does put us on edge," Chaney said of the forecast. "The weather is a very big concern for us."
Added Rancho Santa Fe Fire Department Chief Tony Michel: "The winds are going to be a problem."
"The battle isn't over," said San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer. "We have had crews out there that have worked all night."
Firefighting on early Wednesday focused on "mop-up operations," Chaney said.
The cause of the blaze, called the Bernardo Fire, is still under investigation, he said.
The National Weather Service
issued a red flag warning for areas around San Diego through 8 p.m.
Wednesday. As the agency noted, "a red flag warning means that critical
fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly," with
strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures feeding into "extreme
fire behavior."
Temperatures in the
southern California city are forecast to peak in the mid-90s Wednesday
and Thursday with no sign of rain, before cooling somewhat later in the
week.
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