SUNSHINE SUMMIT (CNS) - Fire crews are working Friday to subdue the smoldering remnants of a lightning-sparked wildfire that blackened an estimated 900 acres in the rural northeastern reaches of San Diego County, prompting residential evacuations but causing no known structural damage.
The blaze broke out about 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Sunshine Summit area, north of Oak Grove and east of Palomar Mountain, according to Cal Fire.
As of Friday morning, it burned 863 acres and was 25% contained. There are 371 personnel, six helicopters, 22 engines and 13 fire crews assigned to battle the blaze.
As ground crews and personnel aboard air tankers and water-dropping helicopters worked to halt the spread of the southeast-moving blaze, sheriff's deputies cleared residents out of homes closest to its leading edges.
They also advised people in areas at safer distances to prepare to evacuate on short notice if conditions worsened. A temporary shelter for the displaced was in operation at Warner Springs Community Resource Center in the 30900 block of state Route 79.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries Wednesday while working to corral the blaze, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette said.
Despite crews' steady progress in quelling the blaze, however, Chihuahua Valley Road remained closed until further notice.
"We are coordinating with the Bureau of Land Management and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to minimize impacts on cultural and heritage resources," Cal Fire said in an update Thursday night.
A heavy lightning storm moved through the area just before the blaze erupted, and investigators concluded that the atmospheric electrical activity ignited it, according to Cal Fire.
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