Tanker Crashes, 15 Buildings Burn in San Diego County Brush Fires

ESCONDIDO — Fifteen structures burned to the ground and an air tanker crashed Friday as several brush fires popped up throughout San Diego County, officials said.

Temperatures hovering around 100 degrees hindered firefighters’ efforts, according to the California Department of Forestry.

A fire in the Lake Wohlford area that began about 1:15 p.m. had burned more than 500 acres by late afternoon and was expected to consume at least a thousand acres.

The blaze destroyed five homes and 10 outbuildings, said forestry department spokeswoman Corey Rochester.

Officials said the area is hilly and inaccessible, and high winds were pushing the fire. To make matters worse, the blaze was jumping ahead of itself, said department spokesman David Carney.

Another blaze burned about 140 acres near Ramona, threatening structures.

An air tanker scooping water from San Vicente Reservoir to fight that fire flipped over and crashed. Two crew members appeared to have minor injuries, department officials said. One was airlifted to a hospital, and the other was transported by ground.

The plane was contracted from a company called Airborne Fire Attack.

At least two other small fires were burning in north San Diego County. There were also two brush fires on the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base north of Oceanside.