Aircraft Help Firefighters Gain Edge in Fight Against 137-Acre Otay Mesa Blaze

Firefighters continued to battle a large vegetation fire, now at 35% containment, that broke out Saturday afternoon in Otay Mesa.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Cal Fire San Diego reported that the fire had grown to 137 acres, but that “aircraft are making good progress.”

Units were dispatched around 3 p.m. Saturday to reports of smoke in a rural area of San Diego County near steep, rough terrain around Otay Truck Trail, according to Cal Fire officials.

“The fire was burning north of the Otay Truck Trail, up the western slope of a hill,” a Cal Fire public information officer had earlier told City News Service. “All ground and aircraft resources are in effect.”

The San Diego Fire-Rescue and Corona Fire departments and Bureau of Land Management were assisting in the effort.

Five helicopters, two fixed-wing prop planes and two large jets from Riverside and San Bernardino counties were brought in to fight the fire, according to OnScene.TV.

No evacuations or injuries were reported, and the cause was not known.

The Otay Mesa blaze was the second such fire in the county Saturday. Units responded around 11:10 a.m. to reports of smoke south of the Pala Casino near state Route 76.

Fire officials said by 12:45 p.m. that they had used fixed-wing aircraft with retardant to gain the upper hand. Crews were hiking in to construct control lines and fully extinguish the fire.

Updated at 7:45 a.m., Sunday, June 23, 2024

– Staff and wire reports