Firefighters working to douse remaining hot spots at the site of a wind-whipped brush fire that destroyed one home in a neighborhood near El Cajon had the 30-acre burn area fully contained Thursday evening.
The non-injury blaze erupted for unknown reasons next to a home in the 2800 block of Willow Glen Drive in Rancho San Diego about 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to Cal Fire.
Driven by strong Santa Ana winds and arid conditions, the flames raced up to the top of an adjacent hill, where they gutted a residence and damaged six others, said Cal Fire Capt. Thomas Shoots.
Sheriff’s deputies cleared residents out of houses on more than a dozen surrounding streets as ground and airborne crews battled the blaze, dubbed the Willow Fire.
Firefighters had the spread halted by shortly before 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
Despite the dry, gusty conditions, the personnel were able to get a handle on the fire because it was “boxed in” by residential streets, Shoots said.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
– City News Service