Firefighters worked through Tuesday night to gain the upper hand on a brush fire burning in the northeastern portion of Camp Pendleton that has charred around 140 acres, a fire official said Wednesday.
While a helitanker was being used to fly over the fire to look for hot spots Wednesday, hand crews and other firefighters worked to keep the fire from spreading, Camp Pendleton Deputy Fire Chief John Crook said in a video message posted on Twitter. The fire has been dubbed the Oak fire.
Deputy Chief John Crook, CPFD, gives an update on the #OakFire pic.twitter.com/yuz0zT7Uan
— Camp Pendleton (@MCIWPendletonCA) October 23, 2019
“There are no threats to structures at this time or impact to personnel,” Crook said. “This fire is in mop-up status, but given the weather that is changing, that’s why we are taking a role in making sure we have the right amount of assets to negate the situation.”
The fire broke out Tuesday near a remote firing range, sending up billowing smoke over North County as it scorched dozens of acres of brush.
No structures were threatened by the fire, which erupted amid unseasonably hot late-afternoon temperatures on the 125,000-acre Marine Corps installation. Officials said the blaze was burning near an area known as Range 409, near U.S. Naval Weapons Station Fallbrook.
The fire grew from an estimated 10 acres by 5 p.m. to more than 80 acres by 8 p.m., at which point it was 35 percent contained, according to Marine Corps officials.
Cal Fire and U.S. Forest Service personnel were helping military firefighters extinguish the blaze.
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