Brush Fire Threatens Homes, Forces Evacuations In San Diego's East County

LAKESIDE, CA — A fast-moving brush fire blackened hundreds of acres, threatened homes and forced evacuations Tuesday afternoon in eastern San Diego County.

The blaze, called the Monte Fire, sparked shortly before 3 p.m. in the 15000 block of El Monte Road, just east of El Monte County Park in Lakeside, according to Cal Fire.

As of 3:30 p.m., the fire had burned 50 acres and was threatening structures, Cal Fire said. By 4 p.m., the fire had scorched 200 acres.

As of 7 p.m., the blaze had burned 340 acres and was 10% contained.

Crews fought the flames on the ground and aboard air tankers and water-dropping helicopters.

"Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the state are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow," Cal Fire said.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Office issued evacuation orders and warnings for surrounding areas.

Evacuation orders were issued for the following zones: SDC-1467, SDC-1515, SDC-1516 and SDC-1551. Evacuation warnings were issued for the following zones: SDC-1470, SDC-1517, SDC-1469 and SDC-1468. View an interactive map here.

• Also see: Lakeside Fire Map: See Monte Fire Perimeter, Evacuation Areas

"Immediate threat to life," Cal Fire said. "This is a lawful order to leave now. The area is lawfully closed to public access."

A temporary shelter was opened at Walmart Supercenter at 13487 Camino Canada in El Cajon, according to the sheriff's office.

The San Diego Humane Society's Emergency Response Team was deployed to support the county with livestock evacuations in the Lakeside area.

Small pets can be evacuated to the county's South Shelter at 5821 Sweetwater Road in Bonita. Large animals can be evacuated to Dianne Jacob Lakeside Equestrian Park at 11055 Moreno Ave. in Lakeside.

Yucca Road at El Monte Road was closed due to the fire, according to the California Highway Patrol's El Cajon area office. Lake Jennings and El Monte roads, El Monte Road at Omas Road, and Willow Road at Omas Road were closed to the public and open to residents only.

The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District issued a smoke advisory for East County, including the eastern portion of Lakeside and the northeast portion of El Cajon and Alpine.

• Also see: Wildfire Smoke Triggers Smoke Advisory For Parts Of San Diego County

There were no immediate reports of structural damage or injuries.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.