Crime & Safety

[Updated] Chariot Fire 90% Contained; Sunrise Highway Remains Closed

Officials expect to have full lines of containment around the burn zone by Sunday, said Mike Mohler, a captain with the state agency.

Originally posted at 9:30 a.m. July 9, 2013. Updated July 12 at 9 a.m.

Roughly 1,600 ground and airborne personnel worked for the seventh consecutive day today to finish off a largely extinguished wildfire that charred about 7,055 acres and destroyed scores of mountain cabins and other structures in the Mount Laguna area.

The Chariot Fire erupted shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday off Sunrise Highway, roughly 9 miles southeast of Julian, according to Cal Fire, which declared the blaze 90 percent contained as of this morning, with full containment expected Sunday.

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The state firefighting agency also reported that 1,612 firefighters were assigned to the incident as 6:30 this morning. Cal Fire officials said 10 minor injuries have occurred since the fire began, most of them affecting crew members suffering from heat exhaustion.

A total of 149 structures have been destroyed in the fire and another nine are damaged, according to Cal Fire.

Find out what's happening in Ramonawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Among the known losses is the Al Bahr Shrine Camp, which lost its lodge, social hall and about 10 cottages — all log structures built in the 1920s — along with 85 or more trailers that had been converted into vacation cabins.

More than 100 residences, along with numerous campgrounds, were evacuated because of the fire. A small group of residents were first to be told to leave on Sunday, then the evacuation zone was expanded Monday to include dozens more. All evacuation orders were lifted as of Thursday night. However, Sunrise Highway remained closed today.

Warm, dry conditions aided in the fire's growth over the weekend and into early this week but since then, increasing humidity levels have helped fire crews gain the upper hand, according to Cal Fire.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

—City News Service


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