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Wildfire
threatens Marine Corps base FALLBROOK, Calif. — A wildfire that doubled in size overnight moved onto a Marine Corps base Monday after burning dozens of homes and injuring 11 people in a wealthy enclave north of San Diego. The wind was calmer Monday than the day before, but there was a threat of an ocean breeze. The fire had grown to 4,000 acres Monday as it moved northward toward Camp Pendleton, where base fire crews were ready to take it on. “It’s a huge base,” said a spokesman, Lt. Greg Scott. “It’s like a town, so we’ve got to be prepared.” No structures or people were threatened on the 125,000-acre base but the blaze had burned an area of dry brush and rugged hills on its eastern end, Scott said. The base is home to more than 30,000 Marines. The fire was reported Sunday about 60 miles north of San Diego. Residents led horses away and others fled with virtually nothing as flames raced through a hilly area of ranches, avocado groves and homes valued at up to $1 million. About 40 structures were burned, most of them homes, said Capt. Rick Mann of the North County Fire District. He said an ocean breeze was expected to kick up late in the day, which could change the direction of the fire’s movement. The blaze was only 5 percent contained by Monday morning. More than 700 firefighters were on the line. The cause of the blaze was unknown. Eleven people were taken to hospitals, including six who suffered smoke inhalation and hypothermia when they jumped into a swimming pool to escape the flames, Mann said. Ten of the injured were treated and released. Pete Jespersen grabbed an American flag and held it up to his face as he ran through heavy smoke to escape his in-laws’ home. “I tried to save the house, but it was no use,” said Jespersen, who sprayed water on the structure. Soot covered his face and arms. About 100 people were displaced by the fire, including some evacuated from an officers’ housing area at the Naval Weapons Station in Fallbrook. The fire came within 500 yards of the housing, spokesman Gregg Smith said. Ammunition and other weapons stored on the base are protected inside structures that can withstand fire, said Smith. A school was opened as a shelter but most fire victims sought refuge overnight in private homes. The blaze was driven by Santa Ana wind that gusted up to 60 mph. Gusts whipped to 100 mph in other parts of Southern California during the weekend. The wind overturned tractor-trailer rigs, downed power lines and knocked over a tree Saturday that killed a tennis player in Simi Valley. |
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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
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