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Valley Fire at 17,665 acres and 32% contained

JAPATUL VALLEY (CNS) - Fire crews will spend a sixth day Thursday, Sept. 10 trying to quell a wildfire that has blackened thousands of acres in rural eastern San Diego County, leveling dozens of homes and outbuildings and forcing widespread evacuations.

The blaze, dubbed the Valley Fire, erupted for unknown reasons early Saturday afternoon off Spirit Trail and Carveacre Road in Japatul Valley, southeast of Alpine, according to Cal Fire.

As of about 7:45 a.m. today, the wind-driven inferno had burned 17,665 acres and was 32% contained, the state agency reported. The blaze has destroyed 30 ``habitable structures'' and 29 ``minor structures'' and resulted in two injuries, though it was not clear if the victims were firefighters or civilians.

Gusty winds stoked the flames burning within established fire lines Tuesday night, but the Santa Ana conditions -- strong, warm and dry air currents blowing from east to west -- did not intensify as much as meteorologists predicted they might, Cal Fire reported. As a result, humidity levels around the blaze remained relatively high Wednesday, aiding the firefighting effort.

A National Weather Service red flag wildfire warning expired at 8 p.m. Wednesday, although forecasters predict relatively dry conditions will persist through the weekend as temperatures slowly warm throughout the county.

Gusts recorded Tuesday night through Wednesday morning reached 54 mph at Sill Hill, 49 mph in Alpine, 47 mph in Hellhole Canyon, and 44 mph in Buckman Springs and Boulder Creek, according to the NWS.

Among the imminently threatened local communities as of Wednesday night were the back-country towns of Carveacre, Lawson Valley, Wood Valley, Lyons Valley and Deer Horn Valley, as well as Sycuan Indian Reservation.

Evacuation orders were in effect for Carveacre, Japatul Valley, Lawson Valley and Lyons Valley. In Descanso, Pine Valley, Alpine, Viejas, Dulzura, Barrett Junction and Potrero, residents were advised Wednesday night to prepare to clear out of their homes on short notice if the flames begin closing in on their neighborhoods.

Shelters for the displaced were available at two high schools -- Steele Canyon in Spring Valley and El Capitan in Lakeside, the latter of which also was accepting pets, according to the San Diego Humane Society.

Lakeside Rodeo Arena was available to shelter horses, and residents in need of a safe place to board their pets or livestock until the wildfire is extinguished were advised to make use of one of two San Diego County Animal Services shelters, in Bonita and Spring Valley.

On Tuesday afternoon, San Diego Gas & Electric advised about 16,700 of its East County customers that public-safety power outages might become necessary due to the potential for weather-related utility combustion hazards. Early Wednesday morning, SDG&E shut off electrical service to 49 addresses in Descanso. Following inspections of its transmission equipment in the community, the utility restored power to those locations late Wednesday morning.

Unplanned fire-related power outages, however, kept about 794 addresses in the vicinity of the blaze without electrical service early Thursday morning, and possibly for several more days, according to SDG&E.

Power was expected to be restored to about 13 customers by 5 p.m. Friday, while the remaining 781 customers were expected to be without power until 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to SDG&E's outage map.

Due to smoke drifting over much of the county due to the blaze, the San Diego County Pollution Control District advised that air-quality levels were unhealthy in parts of the region and advised people to limit outdoor activities until conditions improve.

Among road closures stemming from the wildfire were sections of Japatul Road, Japatul Valley Road, Lyons Valley Road, Lawson Valley Road, Skyline Truck Trail, Wisecarver Lane at Wisecarver Truck Trail, Loveland Reservoir Place and West Boundary Truck Trail, the county Sheriff's Department reported.

The U.S. Forest Service, for its part, temporarily closed Cleveland National Forest to the public along with the 17 other federal wilderness preserves in California in response to the ``unprecedented and historic fire conditions throughout the state.''

As the Valley Fire spread, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for San Diego County, a move intended to free up federal relief funds.

 

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