With a week of record-breaking May temperatures and Santa Ana winds, San Diego suffered severe losses in a stream of firestorms that raged out of control. The wild fires caused havoc from Camp Pendleton to Lakeside, with dozens of homes destroyed, thousands evacuated and many enduring the triple-digit temperatures with no power.
On May 14, Lakeside was one of the last fires to start and the first to be knocked down.
With a week of record-breaking May temperatures and Santa Ana winds, San Diego suffered severe losses in a stream of firestorms that raged out of control. The wild fires caused havoc from Camp Pendleton to Lakeside, with dozens of homes destroyed, thousands evacuated and many enduring the triple-digit temperatures with no power.
On May 14, Lakeside was one of the last fires to start and the first to be knocked down.
Heartland Fire & Rescue (El Cajon, La Mesa and Lemon Grove), along with Lakeside and San Miguel firefighters and the help of San Diego Sheriffs, quickly contained a fire from the ground. The fire, located on a hillside off Olde Highway 80 and Aurora Drive, bordering Lakeside and El Cajon started shortly after 5 p.m.
Heartland reported the fire contained shortly after 7 p.m., but remained on site throughout the night. The fire burned approximately 17 acres, threatening homes on top of the hill and a neighboring mobile home park.
Bodie Hunter from Yucca Valley found himself helping firefighters douse the flames near his wife’s grandmother’s home.
El Cajon resident Jimmy Johnson said, having gone through the wildfires of 2003 and 2007, that local residents were “anxious” when trying to determine how the fire would move and if fates would bring the fire to their homes.
To learn more about personal preparation tips and fire safety education visit heartlandfire.org.
