Hot, dry, and gusty Santa Ana winds blasting across Southern California have ignited two rapidly spreading wildfires near Malibu and San Diego. Firefighters working to contain the blazes could face even more challenging conditions today as the winds reach their peak.
The Henderson fire ignited on Camp Pendleton, a Marine Corps base about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of San Diego, at around 2:35 p.m. PT on Thursday, according to the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CAL Fire). In just a few hours, the inferno exploded in size. Firefighters with the Camp Pendleton Fire Department and partnering agencies responded with ground crews and aircraft, but faced challenging fire weather conditions overnight. Per CAL Fire’s latest update, the fire has burned 2,080 acres and is 0% contained.
According to the disaster tracking platform Watch Duty, Santa Ana winds were pushing the Henderson fire westward at 12 p.m. PT on Friday. Around that time, the California Highway Patrol Oceanside Office stated that nearby Northbound Interstate-5 had been closed at Vandegrift Boulevard. Thursday evening, authorities briefly closed I-5 in both directions due to the encroaching blaze, snaring traffic.
m. PT that same day, the Bryson fire broke out near Encinal Canyon Road in the dry, brush-covered mountains of Malibu, according to CAL FIRE. In less than two hours, it grew to 100 acres. Local news channel KTLA 5 reports that firefighters deploying helicopters, bulldozers, and hand crews to prevent them from spreading south of Encinal Canyon Road. They managed to achieve some suppression overnight, and by Friday morning the fire was 17% contained and had burned 147 acres.
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