A view of smoke over Oceanside Sunday where the Wala Fire burned. Photo credit: Screen shot, @bridgetnaso, via Twitter
A brush fire with a moderate rate of speed burned Sunday, threatening structures in Oceanside and forcing residents in surrounding neighborhoods to evacuate.
Residents in the 300 block of Rimhurst Court, the 300 block of Shadowtree and all of Wala Drive were asked to evacuate out of an abundance of caution, according to the Oceanside Fire Department.
As firefighters battled the blaze, dubbed the Wala Fire, in the 800 block of West Airport Road, officers with the Oceanside Police Department went door-to-door notifying residents on Spring Brook Court and Silver Ridge Court to evacuate.
Officials set up an evacuation center at El Camino High School, 400 Rancho Del Oro Road.
Cal Fire San Diego, the North County Fire Protection District, Vista, Encinitas and Carlsbad joined in responding to the fire, first reported at 12:21 p.m.
Two air tankers spread retardant over the fire at 1:45 p.m. A plume of black smoke blanketed the area and could be seen for miles.
At 4 p.m., Oceanside fire and police officials will hold a briefing about the Wala Fire.
In addition, Oceanside police tweeted that media and the public should “keep all drones away from the area of the fire.”
The blaze started as forecasters warned of “critical fire weather conditions” in parts of San Diego County through Monday.
Some homes in the Oceanside area of San Diego County were evacuated while firefighters work to contain a brush fire burning at a moderate rate of spread with immediate structure threat, according to officials. The fire was estimated to be at least 73 acres. #WalaFire pic.twitter.com/9SJ6NrAAL4
— Malik Earnest (@MalikEarnest) June 12, 2022
– City News Service