A Busy Sunday for Lakeside Firefighters

Lakeside, CA - 

A series of vegetation fires kept Lakeside firefighters busy on Sunday, May 25, 2014. The first fire was reported just before 1:00 p.m. in the area of Highway 67 and Lorraine Ct., just south of Scripps Poway Parkway. Heartland Fire Communications dispatched a wildland fire resource response including E1, E2, WT7251, M2, and Div 4106 (Lakeside); Br4 (Santee). Due to the location in State Responsibility Area (SRA), CalFire also dispatched a full wildland resource response including aircraft.

Arriving firefighters discovered a well-established vegetation fire making an uphill run toward a home on Lorraine Ct. Lakeside Engines 1 and 2 were assigned to structure defense while the wildland (type III) engines started  progressive hoselays on the right and left flanks of the fire to begin extinguishment and containment. An S-2 airtanker from the nearby Ramona Air Attack base made several pinpoint retardant drops to hold the fire in check and protect the threatened home. Additionally, County helicopters 10 and 12 arrived and provided water drops to slow the forward spread of the fire. Assigned resources were able to pick this fire up at only a few acres with no structures damaged.

Smoke showing from a distance.

Engines 1 and 2 in structure defense positions.

FFs on Division X mopping up.

As the first fire was being mopped-up, another wildland response was dispatched with numerous callers reporting multiple fires in the vegetation on the west side of Winter Gardens Blvd. between Gardena Rd. and Golden Ridge Rd. With multiple engines approaching the area from both the south and the north, firefighters stopped and took action when they encountered a fire. The largest of these multiple fires was on a  hillside lot with numerous structures nearby. Lakeside Engine 1 (who was returning from the Hwy 67 incident) and Santee Engine 4, attacked the fire from the north flank while Heartland Fire-Rescue Engine 9 started a hoselay on the south flank. Firefighters quickly had a knockdown on the fire and went to work on containment and mop-up.

FFs mop up on Division Zulu.

Lakeside Division 4106 (r) was Incident Commander with assistance from CalFire Battalion 3316.

These fire incidents demonstrate the strong mutual and automatic aid agreements that ensure the provision of seamless emergency response services to our district residents. Lakeside Fire would like to acknowledge our regional partners for their timely assistance: Santee Fire, San Miguel Fire, Barona Fire, Heartland Fire-Rescue, San Diego Fire-Rescue, CalFire, and San Diego Sheriff's Department.

All fires are currently under investigation.

Post and photos by: Captain Scott Culkin, Lakeside Fire District.