Fire East of San Diego Consumes 18,200 Acres, Is 10% Contained

A brush fire near the community of Julian east of San Diego spread to 18,200 acres Wednesday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

Officials said the blaze, which erupted Monday afternoon, is only 10% contained. They could give no estimate of when it would be under control.

Nearly 2,000 firefighters were battling the fire.

Five homes were destroyed Tuesday, and officials said another 300 structures are threatened by the south front of the fire, which apparently was sparked by a National Guard helicopter that clipped a power line.

Four firefighters battling the blaze have suffered minor injuries.

A female gray wolf and its three cubs were killed Tuesday, after flames burned across the California Wolf Center. Another 26 wolves, a mix of Mexican grays and the more common Alaskan grays, survived. Some sought refuge in concrete and soil fire boroughs built by the center for just such an emergency.

Several hundred residents who were ordered to evacuate Tuesday had not been permitted to return to their homes by late Wednesday.

In Sequoia National Forest, the McNalley Fire has burned 88,000 acres and is 35% contained.

Initially, that blaze threatened several groves of giant sequoias, but now the fire is heading north and east, officials said. The ancient trees are safe, authorities have said.

Along California’s northern border, the 35,000-acre Sour Biscuit Fire continued its push to merge with the 145,000-acre Florence fire, which has been burning in southwestern Oregon since July 13. More than 17,000 people in Oregon’s Illinois Valley have been told to be ready to evacuate within 30 minutes if given notice.

*

Associated Press contributed to this report.