A fast-moving fire injured two people and destroyed at least four homes Monday as it spread through a mobile home park in Lakeside and forced evacuations.
The fire was first reported south of Interstate 8 near Los Coches Road around 3 p.m., said Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette. Crews were able to stop the forward spread of the fire at roughly 5 acres and had it about 5% contained shortly before 4:30 p.m., according to Cal Fire.
One person sustained burn injuries and one reportedly suffered smoke inhalation, Cornette said. Both were transported to hospitals. No information about their conditions was immediately available.
Cornette — who noted that the region is entering peak fire danger — said the fire started in brush and quickly spread to a neighboring mobile home park, pushed east by breezy winds out of the west.
A helicopter makes a water drop. (Ana Ramirez / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Lakeside Fire Marshal Jeremy Davis said the fire department got a report of a vegetation fire near East Las Coches Road. It was about an acre when they arrived, and it had spread into the nearby Monterey Mobile Lodge development.
The spread of embers “did cause the fire to spread quite quickly going through the mobile home park,” Davis said. “It wasn’t a true conflagration, but it spread home by home because of combustion materials, then it spread to the other side where the vegetation is, and then it went back into the wildland.”
Crews work to put out a fire at Monterey Mobile Lodge. (Ana Ramirez / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Davis said at least four homes were destroyed and others had been damaged, although crews were still working through the site, evaluating the scene. “We’ll see once we get over there what the true damage is,” he said.
He said most people evacuated, although a few stayed behind and used hoses to douse hot spots in backyards.
Among them was Bob Haynes, 87, who said he and his wife Pattie Haynes, 80, were inside their home, air-conditioning on, “when all of a sudden we heard a pop.” He looked out and saw a fire “up against our house.” And a nearby eucalyptus tree was on fire.
“So I tried to go out and fight it, but a lot of cops got here quick,” he said. “But there were no fire trucks.”
He said a bit of the skirting around his home, where he has lived for 39 years, melted in the fire. He fears there is structural damage beyond the skirting.
Crews work to put out a fire at Monterey Mobile Lodge Monday in Lakeside. (Ana Ramirez / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Cornette said that because the fire ignited where “the brush meets the houses” — where wildland and urban areas intersect — fighting the blaze was a bit challenging because crews had to fight both vegetation and structure fires at the same time.
Crews called for additional resources twice, making it what used to be known as a three-alarm fire but now is referred to as a “greater alarm” blaze, Cornette said.
At its peak, nearly 200 firefighters from Lakeside, Heartland, San Miguel and other fire departments fought alongside Cal Fire crews.
Cornette said a “large aerial response” of tankers and helicopters was sent to drop water and fire retardant on the flames. The initial air attack of two air tankers and three helicopters was expanded to include two additional large air tankers, he said.
As fire crews worked, sheriff’s deputies worked to evacuate residents from the area where multiple structures had been “engulfed,” said sheriff’s Lt. Nick Backouris.
Blown out windows are shown as a firefighter fixes their gloves as they work to put out a fire at Monterey Mobile Lodge. (Ana Ramirez / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The evacuation order zone stretched north of Los Coches Road, to south of I-8, to east of Los Coches Road to west of Lake Jennings Park Road and Kumeyaay Highway, according to Genasys Protect mapping.
Evacuation warnings — which means people should be prepared to leave — were issued for a larger swath of neighborhoods nearby but later cancelled.
An evacuation center was established at Viejas Casino at 5000 Willows Road in Alpine, officials said.
Traffic at Los Coches Road and I-8 was closed due to the fire.
Originally Published: September 8, 2025 at 4:06 PM PDT