A rapidly growing bush fire has erupted in San Diego, sparking mass evacuations and damaging homes.
The fire was first reported shortly before 2pm Thursday in the College Area neighborhood, and the fast pace of its growth spread to over 40 acres by 3:45pm local time.
No injuries or deaths have been reported in the hours after the fire began, however emergency services are in the early stages of controlling the blaze and the extent of the damage is unclear.
Several neighborhoods and a number of schools were evacuated Thursday afternoon, while crews from multiple agencies have been deployed.
A rapidly growing bush fire has erupted in San Diego, sparking mass evacuations and damaging homes as dark clouds fill the skies
Helicopter crews were among those deployed, which dropped water and fire retardant on the inferno from above
Early images of the fires showed the sky above San Diego was filled with dark smoke as the wildfire continued expanding across the area.
Helicopter crews were among those deployed, which dropped water and fire retardant on the inferno from above.
The original point of the fire was tracked to an area filled with old, dry palm trees that quickly caught fire and spread before it built momentum to jump a road, San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesperson Monica Munoz said.
One resident told NBC San Diego that although the fires are in their early stages, they have already caused significant damage.
‘It looks like a war zone over here,’ they told the outlet. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before. From SDSU, I could see the very dark smoke and I could see some of the flames, but I didn’t realize how catastrophic it was.’
Munoz said around 3pm local time that she felt ‘confident’ fire crews would control the blaze, adding: ‘I feel like we’ve got a handle on it.’
