SAN DIEGO (Peñasquitos Canyon) Sun Aug 16, 1:56 pm
San Diego Fire-Rescue crews responded to a vegetation fire burning in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Sunday afternoon, along the creek that divides Sorrento Valley to the south from Carmel Valley to the north — the second fire in this canyon this year, following a June 8 blaze. The fire, initially reported at two acres and moving slowly through medium fuels, grew rapidly through the afternoon.
By 4:43 p.m., SDFD reported the fire had reached 131 acres with 54 units and 160 personnel assigned to suppression. Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for the surrounding area, and a temporary evacuation point opened at Mandell Weiss Eastgate Park, 4161 Eastgate Mall.
Crews stopped the fire’s forward spread by early evening. SDFD reported 15% containment at 5:40 p.m. and 6:47 p.m., rising to 25% containment by 8:32 p.m., when all SDFD and Cal Fire San Diego aircraft were released for the night. Ground crews continued building containment lines and monitoring hot spots overnight.
Aerial firefighting support included Cal Fire S-2T air tankers and a C-130 making low-level retardant drops in the canyon, alongside water drops from SDFD’s Copter 4 and San Diego County’s ASTREA helicopters. Also flying was SDG&E’s Sikorsky H-60, recently repainted from its red-and-blue livery to a black-and-white scheme. Tanker 107, a large MD-80 series air tanker, made low-altitude retardant runs over the fire.
