SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A brush fire that erupted in Jamul Wednesday afternoon prompted a response from Cal Fire crews and triggered evacuation orders for the immediate area.
The Steele Fire was reported just before 2 p.m. in vegetation off Star Acres Drive, near Steele Canyon Road, according to Cal Fire officials.
Due to the fire's proximity to homes and other structures, authorities issued evacuation orders.
By 4:15 p.m., the fire had grown to 26 acres and was 25% contained, per Cal Fire. Its forward progress was also stopped at that point.
The blaze peaked at 28 acres, and by early Thursday the fire was 85% contained, Cal Fire said.
All evacuation orders were lifted within five hours, other than the one in the immediate fire zone which did not include any residences or structures.
Road closures were also lifted.
WATCH: ABC 10News reporter Max Goldwasser was on the scene Wednesday afternoon
An aerial view from Sky 10 showed a neighborhood subdivision near the fire; firefighters said structures on Vista Cielo Lane were threatened. Steele Canyon High School, located at 12440 Campo Road, was designated as a temporary evacuation point, per the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
Sherry Davidson has lived on Vista Cielo Lane for 35 years. After she evacuated, she told ABC 10News she's never seen flames come that close to her home.
“We’ve got a fire road behind us, but it was coming down and we let the chickens out," Davidson said. "Might have fried chicken for dinner.”
Davidson and her family were part of the 4,300 people hit with an evacuation order.
Same with Nolan Carroll, who ABC 10News spoke with at a nearby gas station after he evacuated his home.
“Flames kind of jumped the hill there across the road from Steele Canyon," he recounted. "A few minutes later than that, we got the evacuation orders and decided to head out.”
You can find a live map showing the evacuation orders via the Genasys app. Below, you'll find a map from the county's Office of Emergency Services showing active evacuation orders (in red) and warnings (in yellow) issued for this fire:
The following roads were closed as firefighters responded, per Genasys:
- Campo Road closed @ Old Campo Road
- Steele Canyon and Vista Cielo
- Steele Canyon at Willow Glen Drive
The dry brush, hot air and breezy conditions presented challenges at first. After all, this was part of the region in San Diego County hit with a Heat Advisory Wednesday.
However, a shift in the Steele Fire's behavior helped crews in their attack.
“The fire was driven by the wind and the slope initially," Cal Fire Captain Mike Cornette said. "Once it got over this ridge, it slowed down because it didn’t have the wind push on it.”
Cal Fire said no structures were burned. Cornette did tell ABC 10News one firefighter suffered minor burn injuries. Cornette said the firefighter was taken to the burn center and is expected to be okay.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation.
