Evacuations ordered in Bonsall area as wildfire spread by Santa Ana winds grows to 80 acres

Karen Kucher and Gary Robbins, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jan 21, 2025

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Strong Santa Ana winds pushed a wildfire across critically dry terrain in the Bonsall area early Tuesday, charring more than 80 acres and forcing the evacuation of homes in the path of the fire, officials said.

The so-called Lilac fire — which began north of West Lilac Road just west of Interstate 15 — is burning in an area where the relative humidity is very low, giving the system more strength. Winds are blowing up to 21 mph and will last well into the morning.

The blaze is one of three that broke out in the area before dawn. Firefighters have contained the two others.

The Lilac fire continues to spread in a west-southwest direction in a region that has had virtually no rain since last spring. Some structures have been damaged although the extent of the loss is unclear, Cal Fire officials said.

The fires come as the region is under a red flag warning as strong Santa Ana winds and bone-dry conditions combine to heighten fire risks. San Diego Gas & Electric has turned off power to 14,000 customers to help reduce chances that additional fires will pop up.

“The Lilac is still growing. It is over 80 acres and still growing,” Cal Fire Capt. Robert Johnson said around 5 a.m. “We have over 150 personnel assigned to the Lilac incident.”

In addition to firefighters on the ground, two night-flying helicopters were assigned to the fire and were making water drops, he said.

“We were having pretty strong gusts in the beginning of the fire,” Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette said. He said SDG&E’s weather map showed peak gusts of 21 mph reported in the Fallbrook area, with sustained winds of around 7 mph around 5 a.m.

Sheriff’s deputies worked to get evacuation warnings to Bonsall residents using patrol cars and a sheriff’s helicopter to put out the distinctive “hi-low” sirens. Residents also were notified by reverse 911 calls and by deputies going door to door, said sheriff’s Lt. Noah Zarnow.

The evacuation area is west of Interstate 15, south of state Route 76 and east of Vessels Ranch Road, Zarnow said.

Residents were directed to an evacuation center at the Castle Creek Country Club in Escondido. Evacuees with large animals were told to take them to the Del Mar Horsepark, 14550 El Camino Real, Del Mar; or to CRC Ranch, 43101 Anza Road, in Temecula.

Cal Fire investigators are on scene and are trying to determine what might have started the fires, which were fairly close together.

The first fire was reported shortly after 12:15 a.m. west of I-15 and north of Highway 76. The Pala fire burned around 16 acres before its forward rate of progress was halted. Residents in the area were briefly told to evacuate before the order was lifted.

The Lilac fire was reported about a half hour later. A third, dubbed the Riverview fire, was reported near Santa Margarita Drive in Fallbrook shortly after 1:20 a.m. It charred about one acre before crews were able to halt its spread, officials said.