A smoldering hot spot from a day-old riverbed fire near Carlton Oaks Country Club flared up Wednesday morning, prompting precautionary evacuations of nearby homes while crews doused the overgrown burn area for a second time.
Dark smoke began billowing out of thick vegetation off the 9000 block of Willowgrove Avenue in Santee about 7:30 a.m., according to Heartland Fire & Rescue.
Deputies cleared people out of 10 surrounding homes as personnel attacked the flames by ground and aboard water-dropping helicopters, sheriff’s Lt. Dave Schaller said.
By 11:30 p.m., firefighters had the blaze under control, and the evacuations were lifted.
The original fire broke out around 3 p.m. Tuesday off Carlton Oaks Drive, near Calle del Verde. Over the next several hours, it blackened about five acres.
No structural damage was reported.
— City News Service
