Angel Fire Fully Contained Near Julian
POSTED: 2:45 pm PDT September 15,
2007
UPDATED: 8:52 am PDT September 20,
2007
JULIAN, Calif. -- Firefighters will work Thursday to extinguish a smoldering East County fire that charred 837 acres and destroyed two dozen structures in the highlands above the historic mining town of Julian before it was contained. The blaze, dubbed the Angel Fire, was entirely contained by 6 p.m. Wednesday and is expected to be fully extinguished by 6 p.m. Saturday, according to the California Department of Forestry. The California Highway Patrol is escorting traffic through State Route 78 between Wynola Road and Banner Grade. Fire officials said they are limiting traffic on the road because there is a lot of vegetation in the area to fuel the blaze and firefighters will be around on mop-up operations.
The road was the last of several to open after a series of evacuations and closures forced hundreds of people and animals from Julian and other back-country neighborhoods threatened by the flames. About 1,225 firefighters have fought the blaze since Saturday afternoon, when an illegal campfire ignited vegetation on the outskirts of Camp Stevens, an Episcopal diocesan wilderness retreat. Before crews were able to halt and subdue the flames, the fire leveled a vacation home and at least 23 other structures, including a chapel, a lodge, a pump house and some A-frame cabins. The cost of fighting the fire has reached about $4.1 million, California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Roxanne Provaznik said Wednesday night. Six firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the blaze, including three hit by a falling tree, Provaznik said. A Highway Patrol officer also was slightly hurt when a car bumped him at a roadblock.
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