Updated at 7:07 p.m. Aug. 13
Cal Fire crews battled a 350-acre brush fire southeast of Julian Monday as more lightning-sparked brush fires lit up, blackening hundreds of open acres east of Julian as well as near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The so-called Vallecito Fire erupted about 8 p.m. Sunday in the vicinity of the Mason Valley Truck Trail, according to the state firefighting agency.
There were no immediately threats to structures, said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Nick Schuler, and no roads are closed.
More than 600 lightning strikes were reported in San Diego County on Monday, Schuler said. Electrical-storm activity sparked two other fires near Scissors Crossing, north of the initial burn area. One, designated as the Wilson Fire, had grown to roughly 600 acres by shortly after 5 p.m., by which time the other one, the Stewart Fire, was about 50 acres in size.
Schuler told Patch that aircraft was helping battle the flames.
The Vallecito Fire remains zero percent contained.
Cal Fire encourages residents to follow their Twitter page for instant updates on fires in the area.
Around 6:30 p.m. Sunday–less than two hours before the Vallecito Fire broke out–Cal Fire fully contained the so-called , which scorched a whopping 2,007 acres northwest of Warner Springs since last Thursday afternoon.
The Chihuahua Fire was sparked by a lightning strike about 1:15 p.m. Thursday on Chihuahua Valley Road, according to Cal Fire. During the firefighting effort, about 200 ranches and cabins in the valley were evacuated, but no structures were lost.
Cal Fire estimated the cost of suppressing the Chihuahua Fire at $1.5 million.
A firefighter who became unwell in the 103-degree weather on Friday was airlifted to a hospital. Cal Fire reported that another firefighter suffered an injury.
–City News Service contributed to this report.
