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San Diego officials mark 10th anniversary of 2007 wildfires

SD officials mark anniversary of 2007 wildfires
Posted at 9:45 AM, Oct 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-18 21:23:30-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - San Diego city and county officials Wednesday are marking the 10-year anniversary of the devastating October 2007 wildfires by speaking on the improvements being made in local fire protection.

A number of fires burned around San Diego County in October 2007, but two in particular -- the Witch Creek and Harris fires -- were responsible for the destruction of thousands of structures/homes, the burning of 580 square miles and deaths of seven people.

At a Wednesday morning press briefing, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, County Supervisor Dianne Jacob and other officials will discuss the lessons learned from the 2007 fires and remind San Diegans of the fire dangers in the region.

The county Office of Emergency Services is also expected to unveil results of a new survey on San Diego's level of fire preparedness.

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10News asked Cal Fire Chief Tony Mecham what concerned him most when he looked at a map of San Diego County. He listed two places.

The area east of Alpine and south of Interstate 8 was his biggest concern.

He also mentioned the area known as the Santa Margarita Drainage. That is an area between Fallbrook and Riverside County. Both areas have a lot of fuel that has not burned in years and are susceptible to strong winds.