SD Wildfire Burns 4,400+ Acres; Hundreds Of Evacuees Return Home

SAN DIEGO, CA — Throngs of residents from back-country San Diego County communities who were displaced by a large wildfire this week were able to return home Friday, according to CalFire.

The fire, dubbed Border 32, charred 4,438 acres and erupted around 2 p.m. Wednesday off Barrett Lake Road, near state Route 94 in the Barrett Junction area, roughly three miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Some 1,500 people were evacuated amid the fire. Hundreds returned home Friday and Saturday. Temporary shelters for displaced people were operating at Jamul Casino and Mountain Empire High School in Pine Valley.

"Repopulation is such a big deal for us such a big deal for the residents. We know that the moment that this smoke kind of dissipates, folks expect to go back home and so part of it's an educational component, let folks know. We're still working hard to do their job to make sure they come to power when they do get home. Everybody's working hard to get them back in there," Cal Fire Capt. Thomas Shoots said.

The fire was 65 percent contained as of Saturday morning as firefighters continued to mop up hot spots. Officials said crews would be working throughout the day to mop up and build containment lines throughout the day.

The Tecate Port of Entry was scheduled to reopen Saturday after it was closed at the height of the fire, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported.

Four firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the flames but two men were severely burned as the fire spread, Cal Fire reported. The two men were flown to UCSD Medical Center in San Diego.

Some 300 firefighters were fighting flames by ground and air throughout the week as deputies evacuated residents near Barrett Smith and Round Potrero roads. Emergency crews shut down a stretch of state Route 94 between Forrest Gate Road in Campo and Otay Lakes Road in Dulzura, according to the sheriff's officials. Barrett School Road was closed at SR-94.

Schools in the Jamul-Dulzura Union and Mountain Empire Unified school districts will be closed Friday due to the blaze, the county Office of Education advised.

By Thursday evening, some of the evacuated residents who live west of Cochera Via Drive and east of Potrero Valley Road were being allowed to return to their homes, according to the sheriff's department.

Those who had to get livestock out of the path of the fire were advised by the American Red Cross to take them to a county animal services shelter in Bonita.

"It's a very different story today," Shoots said shortly before midday Thursday, describing the lessened ferocity of the fire.

In addition to the gutted houses in the Barrett Junction area, the known property losses resulting from the fire were six outbuildings -- including barns and sheds -- along with a commercial structure and three recreational vehicles, Cal Fire reported.