An evacuation order is in effect Tuesday for Otay Mountain-area neighborhoods as crews worked to contain the smoldering remnants of a wildfire that scorched about 10 square miles of remote terrain in the far southern reaches of the San Diego area over the last five days.
Firefighters had the 6,625-acre blaze 74% contained Tuesday, according to Cal Fire. There were still scattered sections of burning brush within the perimeter, but the flames were posing no immediate threats of spreading further, the state agency reported.
Still prohibited from returning to their homes due to the conflagration, dubbed the Border 2 Fire, were residents of areas east and south of Otay Lakes Road; south and west of Campo Road; along Otay Mountain Truck Trail; and north of the southern edges of the burn zone a few miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
A weekend rainstorm prompted an optimistic assessment from Cal Fire, which stated that the long-awaited precipitation "should mitigate fire activity, helping fire crews to continue strengthening containment lines."
"Firefighters have made great progress slowing the spread of the fire," the agency asserted over the weekend. "(Bulldozers), hand crews and engine companies are working on the ground to contain the fire, while helicopters are dropping water on hot spots on the interior of the fire perimeter."
The blaze — which erupted just west of Doghouse Junction in the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area on Thursday afternoon — threatened thousands of back- country structures but has caused no reported structural damage or injuries. The fire's cause remains under investigation.
Due to the ongoing firefighting operations, Otay Lakes Road remained closed to through traffic on Monday at Wueste Road and just west of Pio Pico RV Park, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
