Politics & Government
Long-Coming Fire Repairs Headed To Rancho Bernardo
Nearly 16 years after the damaging blaze, San Diego on Monday is set to kick off a series of improvements in Rancho Bernardo.
SAN DIEGO, CA — Nearly 16 years after the Witch Creek Fire burned more than 197,000 acres in San Diego County, 9,000 of which were in the city, San Diego leaders will kick off improvements and repairs for the streets impacted by the blaze Monday.
Mayor Todd Gloria and City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert will join city staff and community members Monday morning to begin the Witch Creek Fire Street Improvements project in Rancho Bernardo.
The $5.26 million project is intended to repair 2.3 miles of roads with asphalt overlay, upgrade sidewalks and curb ramps to be ADA-compliant, remove and replace cross gutters and curbs and gutters, and restripe roadways. All resurfacing is expected to be completed by the end of June, city officials said.
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The Witch Creek Fire started on Oct. 21, 2007, when Santa Ana winds knocked down power lines east of Ramona. Flames spread to San Diego city limits and merged with the Guejito Fire, which started in the San Pasqual Valley.
At the time, the fire was the fourth-largest blaze in California history. More than 360 homes were lost to the fire in Rancho San Bernardo alone, and more than 1,000 structures were destroyed. The fire killed a couple in their home in Poway.
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Since 2007, following years of devastating fire seasons across the state, the Witch Creek Fire dropped to the 19th-largest, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Funding for the project includes $2.5 million in a state grant designated for wildfire repairs provided by State Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego.
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