EL CAJON, Calif. (KGTV) — The Coches Fire in Lakeside served as a stark reminder of how quickly wildfires can spread through mobile home parks, particularly in older structures built decades ago.
The fire highlighted significant differences between mobile homes constructed in the 1970s and modern units built with updated fire safety standards.
Edward Jackson at Crown Pacific Homes and Construction in El Cajon demonstrated the contrasts between older and newer mobile home construction.
"This house is a 2025 - it has all the fire requirements built into it," Jackson said.
Modern mobile homes feature non-vented eaves that prevent ember intrusion, a critical fire safety improvement.
"It's got non-vented eaves. If you look up under here, there's no vents, so embers can't crawl up and catch the roof on fire," Jackson said.
Newer mobile homes incorporate fire-resistant materials including tempered windows, thicker wood framing, roofs with heavy composite materials and gaps filled with fire-resistant sealant. Interior fire sprinkler systems provide additional protection.
"Here's one of the fire sprinklers right here. They're heat sensitive, they hit a certain degree the caps fall down and then the head comes out and the water shoots out from there," Jackson said.
However, most mobile homes in San Diego County lack these modern safety features. Many were built in the 1970s with thinner, cheaper exteriors that make them more susceptible to fire damage.
"They really didn't have a lot of fire regulations in place," Jackson said.
The vulnerability of older mobile home parks became evident during the Lilac Fire that tore through a mobile home park in Bonsall in 2017 and the West Fire that destroyed several mobile homes in Alpine in 2018.
Jackson expressed concern that the Coches Fire could have caused similar devastation.
"When I saw how fast that fire was moving - I thought 'oh my god, there's going to be a lot of devastation,'" Jackson said.
Firefighters successfully contained the Coches Fire within a couple of hours, preventing widespread destruction. Jackson recommends that homeowners in fire-prone areas consider minor upgrades such as replacing single-pane windows, or removing vents near the roof.
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