A brush fire off San Pasqual Valley Road scorched nearly 50 acres Friday before crews gained the upper hand in the evening.
The flames, near the 17700 block of San Pasqual Valley Road, surpassed early estimates – officials at first said they thought the fire had the potential to consume 30 acres while burning in light vegetation.
However, though the blaze was 0% contained as of almost 4 p.m., the structure threat on Highland Valley Road “has been mitigated,” Cal Fire San Diego said on social media.
The direction of the blaze shifted though, and around 5 p.m. San Diego Fire-Rescue Department officials announced that it was “currently burning within the San Diego city limits.”
They offered no update on acres burned or containment, but just after 6:30 p.m. said that the “forward rate of spread” had been stopped.
Ground crews and personnel aboard air tankers and water-dropping helicopters had significantly subdued the blaze earlier and were getting close to keeping it from spreading, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, Cornette said.
#AcademyFire [Update] The acreage is corrected to 49.7 acres. This was provided by sensor aircraft. pic.twitter.com/yf9NUOe6qo
— CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire (@CALFIRESANDIEGO) May 16, 2025
City News Service contributed to this report.
Updated 7:45 p.m. May 16, 2025
