SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Crews fighting a wildfire that scorched about 150 open acres in a rugged area near Boulevard at the U.S.-Mexico border got the burn area fully contained Friday.
The so-called Border Fire crossed into southeastern San Diego County late Thursday morning after charring roughly 600 acres in the northern reaches of Baja California since the previous day, according to Cal Fire.
At least one crew member with the state agency was injured while battling the flames, suffering mild heat exhaustion, said Cal Fire Capt. Mike Mohler.
The blaze posed no danger to inhabited areas on the U.S. side of the border. It was unclear if it threatened or damaged any structures in Mexico.
Cal Fire sent ground teams, air tankers and helicopters to beat back the flames. Assisting in the effort were personnel from Heartland Fire & Rescue, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service.
The crews were able to halt the fire's spread at about 15 acres within about six hours, but unexpected wind gusts caused flames to cross the containment lines Thursday evening, Roxanne Provaznik of Cal Fire said.
THIS IS A STORY UPDATE. For an earlier version, read below.
CAMPO (CNS) - A fire that scorched 150 acres in a rural area near Campo at the U.S.-Mexico border was 60 percent contained Friday morning and expected to be fully contained Friday night, authorities said.
The so-called Border Fire crossed into the U.S. side of the international boundary about 9:15 a.m. Thursday after charring roughly 600 acres in Baja California since Wednesday, according to Cal Fire.
At least one Cal Fire crew member was injured Thursday, suffering mild heat exhaustion, said Cal Fire Capt. Mike Mohler.
There were no reports of threatened or damaged structures on the U.S. side of the border. It was not immediately clear whether damage occurred south of the border.
Cal Fire sent eight ground crews, four air tankers and three helicopters to beat back the flames. Assisting in the effort were personnel from Heartland Fire & Rescue, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service.
The spread of the fire was initially stopped by mid-afternoon Thursday but unexpected wind gusts caused flames to cross the containment line by early evening, Cal Fire spokeswoman Roxanne Provaznik said.
By 6:40 p.m. Thursday, the winds had diminished and the fire's spread was once again slowed, she said. Between early Thursday evening and 7:30 a.m., containment increased from just 10 percent to 60 percent.
