North County Fire responds to 5 separate fires on July 4

At least five separate small fires were reported in the Fallbrook area on the July 4 holiday.

None of the fires impacted structures. While North County Fire Protection District Capt. John Choi could not confirm whether any of the fires were caused by fireworks, he did say that possibility was under investigation for at least two of the blazes, both of which were reported after dark.

The first fire to be reported on Saturday was a small vegetation fire located just east of Interstate 15 in Rainbow. According to North County Fire on Twitter, the fire district forward spread of that blaze was stopped at 2 p.m.

Around 6:30 p.m., North County Fire and Cal Fire San Diego units responded to another vegetation fire, this one in the 6800 block of Lilac Road in Bonsall. The spread of that fire was also quickly stopped.

Reports of three of the fires all came in quick succession after about 9:40 p.m.

North County Fire responded to a hay fire in the 600 block of South Mission Road at that time, then a tree fire in the 1200 block of Old Stage Road about 10 minutes later, North County Fire tweeted. Then, just after 10 p.m., the fire district reported its units were at the scene of another small vegetation fire near the 40000 block of Little Rock Road in De Luz. The forward spread of the last fire was halted a little less than an hour after it was reported.

According to Choi, the fire on Old Stage Road and the fire in De Luz could potentially have been caused by fireworks, but both remain under investigation. Choi said a witness reported seeing a firework go down in the field where the De Luz fire occurred, but firefighters have not recovered anything in the area.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].