New Fire Starts on Camp Pendleton

A new fire scorched more than 50 acres of brush in the Las Pulgas area of Camp Pendleton today, base officials said.

The blaze broke out about 2 p.m. near a sewage plant and prompted the evacuation of personnel to the School of Infantry Parade deck behind the mess hall, the officials said.

The Camp Pendleton Scout reported that facilities in what the Marines call the "43 Area" were evacuated, including a store, gas station, restaurant, recreating center, barber shop and laundromat.

Base officials said most of the facilities that were evacuated Wednesday because of other fires at the base have reopened.

The largest blaze burned around 6,000 acres at Naval Weapons Station Fallbrook and on the eastern side of Camp Pendleton amid dry, blisteringly hot conditions and was not contained as of mid-day today, Cal Fire Division Chief Dave Allen said.

The so-called Tomahawk Fire erupted for unknown reasons around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday at the Fallbrook facility on the outskirts of Camp Pendleton, then spread onto the North County Marine Corps installation. Naval Weapons Station Fallbrook lost power and will be closed today.

Another fire charred more than two dozen acres along Interstate 5 Wednesday and forced a full closure of the freeway for several hours.

The second blaze broke out on the eastern side of Interstate 5, near Las Pulgas Road, about 15 minutes after the first, according to the California Highway Patrol. The blaze, which was possibly caused by a fire that engulfed and gutted a box truck, blackened 30 acres and prompted a temporary closure of both sides of the freeway in the area.

Military and civilian crews from several area agencies battled the flames on the ground and from firefighting aircraft.