Two separate fires in El Cajon Wednesday afternoon damaged homes in the area, officials are reporting.
A fire of unknown origin damaged an abandoned home near Chase Avenue Elementary School. The blaze in the 1300 block of South Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon erupted shortly after 4 p.m., according Heartland Fire & Rescue. It took crews about 10 minutes to gain control of the flames, said Sonny Saghera, a fire captain with the East County emergency-services agency.
A neighbor who forced entry to the burning boarded-up structure to see if anyone was inside was treated at the scene for mild smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Earlier Wednesday afternoon, a separate vegetation fire in a neighborhood a few blocks from the Parkway Plaza mall spread to a nearby house, displacing one resident and leaving a neighbor who tried to put out of the flames suffering from minor respiratory trauma.
Several trees that began burning for unknown reasons ignited the single-story home in the 1100 block of Naranca Avenue in El Cajon about 2 p.m., Saghera said.
A man who lives nearby hurried over and tried in vain to extinguish the flames prior to the arrival of firefighters. It took crews about a half-hour to subdue the blaze, which damaged the rear of the structure and spread into the attic, Saghera said.
Medics treated the neighbor at the scene for smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire, which left one woman in need of temporary lodging, was under investigation.
–City News Service and staff
