Fire in San Diego College Area – NBC 7 San Diego

A brush fire in a college neighborhood grew quickly Thursday afternoon and threatened buildings in the area, prompting evacuations.

The fire started around 1:30 p.m. on the south side of Montezuma Road — an area filled with old dry palm trees — and quickly jumped onto the road and began to spread upward, San Diego Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Monica Munoz said.

“It’s like a war zone here,” said one resident who evacuated on foot along Montezuma Road. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. From SDSU, I saw very dark smoke and some flames, but I didn’t realize how catastrophic it was.”

Firefighters from multiple agencies responded quickly as the blaze spread a plume of smoke over the college and San Diego area. Several firefighting aircraft arrived at the scene and dropped retarders to prevent the fire from spreading further.

As of 2:45 p.m., the fire had covered 37 hectares and evacuations were ongoing, although firefighters appeared to be gaining the upper hand in the battle.

“I feel like we handled it,” Munoz said around 3:15 p.m. “Now I can’t tell you exactly when it will come out, but I feel confident.”

According to Munoz, the main areas of concern for firefighters were the Talmadge area and the Alverado estate. Both areas are located on hilltops, and fires tend to move uphill quickly.

At least one home had patio damage, but a full estimate of how much damage the 27-acre fire left is still unknown.

Crews were expected to remain in place overnight, with additional crews arriving periodically to assist.

Evacuation

San Diego police evacuated homes near the canyon along Montezuma Road, which was closed in both directions.

An evacuation point has also been set up at the Allied Gardens Rec Center (5155 Greenbrier Ave, SD, 92120).

Mandatory evacuation zones:

• South of Alvarado Canyon Rd
• West of Hewlett Dr.
• North of Monroe Ave
• East of Montezuma
• If you are in this area bordering these streets, please evacuate.

Hardy Elementary School at 5420 Montezuma Rd. was also evacuated. Students were taken to Viejas Arena, and parents who were going to pick up their children were asked to avoid College Avenue.

Shortly after the fire broke out, SDPD officials said they went door-to-door on Lucille, Leela and 49th streets, warning people to leave.

A resident who was not evacuated and lives on the opposite side of Lucille Street told NBC 7 he saw the fire.

“People know what to do here because it’s a constant danger,” said a resident. “They knew they had to go to the neighborhood, get their neighbors out. We have a lot of elderly people here, a lot of pets, so we got the elderly people out, we got the pets out, moved them to a safe area.”

“You live in a canyon, you take risks and you know that danger is always there.”

Munoz said anyone who feels uncomfortable, whether or not an evacuation is mandated, should not hesitate to go to the evacuation center at Allied Gardens Recreation Center.

The San Diego Police Department is currently fighting a large fire in the college area

Areas marked in pink on the map above are under evacuation orders at this time-

evacuation point

Allied Gardens Recreation Center (5155 Greenbrier Ave, SD, 92120) pic.twitter.com/fgqOkmFxv0

— San Diego Police Department (@SanDiegoPD) October 31, 2024

Road closures

Several roads in the area are closed and officials are urging people to avoid the area.

Northbound Fairmount Avenue to eastbound Montezuma is closed, according to San Diego Police. Montezuma Road was closed in both directions.

Other closed roads include:

• Colwood between Monroe and Montezuma.
• Montezuma between Fairmont and 55th.
• Fairmont from I-8 to Aldine.
• Camino del Rio south in Fairmont.
• Eastbound 8 at the Fairmont exit.

San Diego State University told students there is no threat to the campus or their community, but traffic delays should be expected. Evacuation orders may apply to surrounding areas but not to the campus, which was still open and holding classes, the university said.

Traffic was especially heavy along Interstate 8, prompting a SigAlert for the eastbound lanes.

How did the fire start?

SDPD told NBC 7 the fire likely started in a palm tree, but the cause is still unknown.

Soon a fire broke out after another fire in Spring Valley earlier in the day prompting some evacuations.

Resources from several different agencies responded to assist with the fire, including Lakeside, Santee, Miramar and Cal Fire departments.

“That’s what we do, we help each other,” Munoz said. “In this county, we have an extraordinary relationship between our fire departments. We never worry that someone else won’t be able to help us.”

How does weather affect fire?

NBC 7 Meteorologist Francella Perez said the fire is creating its own wind, especially as it moves up the canyon.

Wind speeds were in the firefighters’ favor at only about 5 miles per hour, and there were no Santa Ana winds to contend with, Perez said. But the humidity was very low – from 20 to 30 percentile.

Munoz said that although the wind speed was low, it was changing directions quickly, making the shootout difficult.

Check back here for details on this breaking news — ed.