North County Fire reminds everyone of fire risk after rollover

A female victim was transported to Palomar Hospital with non-life threatening injuries after a rollover and small fire early this morning, Oct. 15. The fire was extinguished by a resident at East Mission and Live Oak Park Road at about 3:51 a.m. as North County Fire rolled on the scene.

“A bush was on fire,” said NCFPD PIO Choi. “It was a 10’ x 10’ spot put out by the property owners, but as the firefighters were observing the area, they saw wreckage in a fence, a sign knocked down and, as they looked down the road, they saw a vehicle on the shoulder that was indicative of a rollover but was back on all four tires. She kept driving but the vehicle came to rest.”

“Her striking the chain link fence started the fire. This shows how susceptible the fuel is right now. The conditions are ripe and there’s a receptive fuelbed. We’re coming into Santa Ana time. With the dryness, even though it feels cold, we have a heightened fire risk,” Choi said.

He equated the present fire risk to the Lilac fire situation. “During Lilac, I was fighting the fire with a beanie. We were wearing sweaters and fighting the fire with cold weather gear. Even if it is cold outside, the fire risk is still high.”

He added that there were high winds of 60 to 70 mph during the Lilac fire, creating extreme fire risk.

“We just want to remind people to be vigilant because ignition from anything can start fires today, including catalytic converters, brushing up against a fence, etc.”