SAN DIEGO — A wildfire, the second to erupt in the same general area in as many days, spread over hundreds of hilly open acres Monday in the far southern reaches of San Diego County is now 15 percent contained.
The blaze broke out for unknown reasons shortly before 1 p.m. east of Marron Valley and just north of the U.S.-Mexico border in the Dulzura area, according to Cal Fire.
In less than four hours, it grew to more than 500 acres in size as ground crews and personnel aboard air tankers and water-dropping helicopters fought the flames, said Cal Fire Capt. Thomas Shoots.
There were no immediate structural threats, though radio-transmission equipment on Tecate Peak was potentially in the path of the fire as it moved to the northeast, Shoots said.
Shortly after the blaze began spreading, firefighters and sheriff's deputies rescued five people near the burn zone, and paramedics took two of them to a hospital. It was not immediately clear what type or severity of trauma the patients had suffered, Shoots said.
