SAN DIEGO -- A camera on top of Mt. Laguna caught the early stages of the Cedar Fire, 10News reported.
The time-lapsed images were released Thursday during a County of San Diego press briefing.
The video, released by Hans-Werner Braun, a University of California, San Diego research scientist, shows the fire one frame every 10 seconds as it worked its way through the mountains.
The video shows the clouds of smoke growing to heights of 25,000 feet.
Destruction From Above
Secured in its place in history as the largest brush fire in California, the enormity of the Cedar Fire can only be especially appreciated from above.
CNN reporter David Mattingly and San Diego veteran pilot Iver Shyer took a tour across San Diego County's charred landscape.
"This is the first time in days we (have) been able to get up (in) the air to see the scope of the damage. The problem has been visibility. There was simply too much smoke," Mattingly said.
Mattingly and Shyer started their tour above the remote area of Valley Center where the fire is believed to have started, possibly by a hunter using a signal fire.
"Everywhere I look is burned," Mattingly said.
Destroyed homes and skeleton trees blanket the area.
"These people didn't have a chance. With the winds and heavy growth you can see the cause and effect," Shyer said.
For miles there are signs of fierce firefighting and small victories.
Orange flame retardant stains a hillside where the fire was stopped cold. There were big victories as well. An entire neighborhood was spared because of precautions taken by homeowners.
"Notice how how all the brush is cleared away right from the edge of their homes. These people are used to the danger of fire," Shyer said.
But it is the devastation that producers the most powerful images. Above Scripps Ranch, where fire destroyed 350 homes Sunday, entire streets and cul-de-sacs are leveled with only chimneys standing.
As of Thursday, the Cedar Fire is heading east and is 38 percent contained. It is no longer an immediate threat to the communities of Ramona, Lakeside or Julian.
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