More Evacuations Ordered in Otay Mountain Wildfire That Has Burned More Than 6,200 Acres

A fast-moving wildfire blew up overnight several miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, blackening thousands of open acres as ground and airborne crews worked Friday amid blustery Santa Ana conditions.

As of late Friday evening, the Border 2 Fire had burned 6,273 acres and forced a number of evacuation orders with warnings extending into parts of Chula Vista around Lower Otay Lake. Firefighters reported 10% containment.

The fire’s progress has slowed, however. Before noon Friday, the blaze had burned 5,389 acres, nearly 10 times its size as night fell on Thursday.

The blaze broke out for unknown reasons at about 2:30 p.m. in a remote spot near Otay Mountain Truck Trail, about a half-mile west of Doghouse Junction in the northwest portion of the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area, according to Cal Fire.

#UPDATE These are the latest EVACUATION ORDERS (red) and WARNINGS (yellow) for the #Border2Fire.

If you feel you are in danger, GO!

To see maps of the affected areas, visit: https://t.co/KRXry2OWyB and https://t.co/KzyiFwFKJL.

Temporary Evacuation Points are open at:… pic.twitter.com/rvQYr6kiBc— San Diego Sheriff (@SDSheriff) January 24, 2025

Flames moved over steep, rugged terrain as firefighters battled it on the ground and aboard air tankers and water-dropping helicopters, said Cal Fire Capt. Robert Johnson.

Johnson said crews are dealing with “some extreme fire behavior,” as blowing embers have started smaller blazes in the area.

The initial burn area is sparsely populated and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation order for residents in Dulzura at Otay Mountain, with warnings to areas just south of Jamul Indian Village and reaching the edges of Chula Vista, including parts of Eastlake and Otay Ranch.

As of this morning's report, the #Border2Fire has 692 personnel assigned, supported by air and ground resources and overhead staffing. pic.twitter.com/IIufAhOTtd— CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire (@CALFIRESANDIEGO) January 24, 2025

But those zones expanded by Friday afternoon. The evacuation zone is roughly defined by the Lower Otay Reservoir on the west, Otay Lakes Road on the north, proceeding east past the Pio Pico RV Resort and Campground to Honey Springs Road and south along Little Tecate Road.

Dulzura and Engineer Springs are in the evacuation zone; evacuation warnings, meanwhile, have been issued to communities east and south of the Upper Otay Reservoir, in areas surrounding the Otay Water Treatment Plant and for Barrett Junction to the east.

The Sheriff’s Office posted on social media, “If you feel you are in danger, GO!”

In addition, South Bay communities that lie mostly east of state Route 125, from Proctor Valley Road down to an area that edges the Otay River, have been put on alert to await further updates from Sheriff’s deputies.

According to CalFire, Southwestern College in Chula Vista is the temporary evacuation point, with an overnight shelter now established at the gym at Cuyamaca College, 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, El Cajon.

The American Red Cross is while providing snacks, hydration and other assistance.

Road closures include Otay Lakes Road from Wueste Road to state Route 94 and Alta Road, near Otay Mesa Road, CalFire said.

Within 90 minutes of starting, the burn area had grown to roughly 140 acres, officials reported. As of shortly before 7 p.m., the fire had spread over an estimated 300 acres, according to Cal Fire.

But the fire expanded rapidly in the dead of night, growing to 800 acres nearing 2 a.m. and 1,000 about three hours later.

The plans for late Friday and early Saturday, according to CalFire, are for bulldozers and hand crews to continue to establish containment lines, supported from the air by water-dropping helicopters. Flames at this point, officials said, are making uphill runs, influenced by shifting winds with fire fuels “very receptive to ignition.”

The response includes more than 1,000 firefighters on 34 crews. Night flying CalFire Fire-Hawk helicopters provided aerial support and fixed wing aircraft were ordered Friday morning. Twelve helicopters total are working the scene along with air tankers from throughout the state.

The forecast is for very low humidity to continue overnight, with a possibility of rain over the fire area from Saturday night into Monday, which could aid in the firefighting effort.

Despite the difficult conditions, there have been no reported injuries, Johnson said.

The San Diego County Office of Education on Friday morning announced that due to safety concerns in connection with the Border 2 Fire, these elementary schools would be closed due to poor air quality: Camarena, Eastlake, Liberty, Marshall, Olympic View, Salt Creek and Wolf Canyon.

Other schools also closed on Friday are Eastlake High, Eastlake Middle, Olympian High, East Hills Academy (in the Sweetwater Union High School District), High Tech High Chula Vista, and Arroyo Vista Charter School.

According to the county office, all other Chula Vista Elementary School District schools “remain open but on rainy day schedule due to poor air quality.”

Otay Lakes County Park also was closed due to the fire and may be remain shuttered through the weekend.

In addition, “out of an abundance of caution,” Sheriff’s officials said, the department temporarily suspended all visits to county jails in the Otay Mesa area – George Bailey Detention Facility, Rock Mountain Detention Facility and East Mesa Reentry Facility.

They added though that there is “no danger to these facilities related to the Border 2 Fire” and the status for the jails is currently listed as as shelter in place.

The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District also issued a smoke advisory for Otay Mesa and surrounding areas due to the fire.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Updated 6:15 p.m. Jan. 24, 2025