SOUTH COUNTY, Calif. — After quickly assigning nearly 200 firefighters and several helicopters and planes to battle a vegetation fire near the U.S.-Mexico border Sunday afternoon, Cal Fire officials reported they had gained the upper hand and halted the spread of the blaze within three hours.
The fire was reported shortly before 11:30 a.m. and quickly charred about 100 acres of vegetation southeast of Otay Lake, on the west side of the Otay Mountain wilderness area.
The fire was initially reported as four separate fires but quickly became one, said Cal Fire Capt. Thomas Shoots. No homes were immediately threatened and no evacuations were requested. The blaze was being called Border 27 fire by the agency.
It was 5% contained as of 1:15 p.m. At 2:15 p.m., officials reported that “fire spread has been stopped,” although dozens of firefighters continued to work on knocking down the flames.
Fire officials said the fire was located about 1 1/2 miles south of Otay Lakes Road and that the terrain made it difficult for crews to reach the fire.
It was sending up a lot of smoke, but because of the low cloud cover, smoke was going into the clouds rather than sending up a hugely visible plume, Shoots said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
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