State of Emergency Declared for San Diego County, CA

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
DROUGHT
NEAR RECORD HEAT
DESTRUCTIVE WILDFIRES
MASS EVACUATIONS
SCENARIO 101
MULTIPLE STATES OF EMERGENCY
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State of Emergency declared as nine wildfires consume 40km² of San Diego County

Gov. Brown has declared a state of emergency for San Diego County as multiple wildfires plague southern California.

The Twin Oaks fire, a wildfire in San Marcos, north of San Diego, prompted the authorities to issue more than 21,000 evacuation notices and a California State University campus with about 10,000 students was evacuated.

The so-called Tomahawk Fire, a massive blaze which broke out on the Camp Pendleton Marine Base north of San Diego, and another smaller blaze, quickly spread consuming more than 6,000 acres by Wednesday evening, and prompting evacuation of military housing and a naval weapons station, according to reports.

Poinsettia fire, another new wildfire in San Diego County, has destroyed at least 30 homes and forced the fire and emergency officials to issue evacuation orders for more than 15,000 residences.

“It’s just unfortunately a recipe for a large fire and that’s what we’re seeing right now,” said a Cal Fire Capt., describing the Poinsettia fire to reporters.

The Poinsettia fire was a “very dynamic situation. Very dangerous situation.”

“It’s right in the middle of the city,” said another fire official, describing the 100 acre fire.

“The Santa Ana winds are expected to continue through this evening and the high temperatures and strong, gusty winds are expected to elevate danger even higher than it has been,” he said.

The Bernardo Fire

Meanwhile, the Bernardo Fire had consumed about 1,600 acres by Wednesday afternoon.

Southern California Edison evacuated 13 employees from the largely shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Power Station some 30km north of Carlsbad as a precaution, Reuters reported.

“Strong Santa Ana winds will continue to impact the mountains, valleys, and coasts today,” warned National Weather Service (NWS) in San Diego. “Strongest gusts will occur along the coastal slopes. The hot, dry and windy conditions will bring a very high risk of rapid wildfire spread today.”

NWS has issued Red Flag Warnings for multiple counties in southwestern and central California.

Related Links

• Wildfire Destroys Dozens of Homes in Carlsbad, Calif. May 15, 2014
• 20,000+ Homes Evacuated as San Diego Wildfire Spreads May 14, 2014