SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Evacuation orders were issued in connection to the Border 2 Fire early Friday morning as crews continued to battle the fire amid Santa Ana wind conditions. By Friday evening, the fire grew to 6,273 acres, according to Cal Fire. It was 10% contained at that point as the wind conditions calmed down in various spots.
ABC 10News brought you live coverage with minute-by-minute updates from 4 to 7:30 a.m. See our coverage from throughout the morning below and in the various clips on this story:
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office announced evacuation orders and warnings at 3 a.m. Since then, the zones for orders, warnings and advisories have grown. This is what the map looked like as of 4:10 p.m.:
Cal Fire says there is a temporary evacuation point at Southwestern College - 900 Otay Lakes Road, Chula Vista, CA 91910 and an evacuation shelter set up at Cuyamaca College - 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, El Cajon, CA 92019.
The following road closures were active as of 5 a.m.:
- Alta Road near Otay Mesa Road
- Otay Lakes Road, Wueste to Pio Pico Campground
- Westbound & eastbound SR-94 at Otay Lakes Road
You can find a live evacuation map from the Office of Emergency Services here.
The Chula Vista Elementary School District announced at 5:55 a.m. that the following schools would be closed Friday, Jan. 24, due to safety and air quality concerns:
- Salt Creek
- Enrique S. Camarena
- Wolf Canyon
- Olympic View
- Liberty
- Eastlake
- Thurgood Marshall
- Arroyo Vista Charter School
"The health and safety of students, staff, and families are our highest priorities," the district said. High Tech High in Chula Vista was also closed.
The Sweetwater Union High School District says the following schools will be closed Friday due to air quality and safety concerns:
- East Lake Middle School
- East Lake High School
- East Hills Academy
- Olympian High
The rest of the schools in the Sweetwater District will be open. The district says it is limiting outdoor activities on Friday.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego says the following schools will be closed:
- Mater Dei Catholic Elementary School
- Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
- St. Rose of Lima School
All schools in the San Ysidro School District will remain open Friday; however, they will be on an indoor contingency schedule. The South Bay Union School District will also stay open, with limited outdoor activity. Officials in the South Bay said they'd continue to monitor the situation.
In the mountains, the Mountain Empire Unified School District, Warner Unified School District and Dehesa School District were closed Friday due to the windy conditions and public safety power shutoff from SDGE. The Borrego Springs Unified School District was also closed, per the San Diego County Office of Education.
The Border 2 Fire initially ignited around 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area, near Otay Mountain Truck Trail about a half-mile west of Doghouse Junction, per Cal Fire. At that point, it was 10 acres, and by 8 p.m. it was 566 acres.
Cal Fire's next update came at 2:15 a.m., reporting it at 800 acres as evacuations began. Overnight, the fire grew further, exploding to 4,250 acres by 6 a.m.
Cal Fire told ABC 10News that the Otay Lakes Reservoir acted as a natural barrier to the fire. ABC 10News reporter Dani Miskell was live from that vantage point monitoring conditions in real-time:
ABC 10News reporter Olivia Gonzalez-Britt spoke to evacuees at the Regal Edwards Cinema evacuation point. One man told her about how a family member lost their home during the recent wildfires in LA:
San Diego Gas & Electric shut off power for many areas as the Red Flag warning conditions were active.
As of 7 a.m. Friday, more than 20,000 customers had their power turned off. SDGE says as many as 63,000 people could lose power. The utility company indicated the period of concern would expire at 5 p.m. Friday.
Here's the map of the shutoffs as of 7 a.m.:
Cal Fire says 692 personnel have been assigned to fight the fire, along with 10 helicopters, 23 engines, eight bulldozers and 16 water tenders.
This is a developing story. Stay with ABC 10News as our team of journalists continues to gather the latest information surrounding this fire.
SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A wildfire erupted several miles north of the U.S.- Mexico border in the San Diego area Thursday, quickly blackening scores of open acres as ground and airborne crews worked to quell the flames amid arid and blustery Santa Ana conditions.
The blaze erupted for unknown reasons shortly before 2:30 p.m. Thursday in a remote near Otay Mountain Truck Trail, about a half-mile west of Doghouse Junction in Otay Mountain Wilderness Area, according to Cal Fire.
The blaze spread over steep, rugged terrain as firefighters battled it on the ground and aboard air tankers and water-dropping helicopters, said Robert Johnson, a fire captain with the state agency.
Within 90 minutes, the burn area had grown to roughly 140 acres, officials reported.
There were no known structural threats, Johnson said. The blaze has now grown to 566 acres. Containment remains at 0%.
