Above was what we saw one morning during the height of the wild fire outbreak here in San Diego County in May. At one point in time there were eleven (11) fires going at the same time. I think a total of over 30,000 acres were burned.
So you can imagine our concern when we saw this column of smoke just a few hundred yards from out rigs. There was a steady stream of fire engines responding past the campground.
There must have been a dozen or more engines on this fire along with water tenders. One of those tenders pulled in the campground to refill.
When two helicopters showed up on the fire, we campers started thinking about the possibility that we would need to evacuate. Many started packing for the move.
The campground has seven small lakes which made for a quick access to water for the helicopters.
There snorkel was in the water for about 25 seconds and then it was lift off and back to the fire.
The two helicopters passing each other. You can see how low they flew.
It was not long before the KUSI-TV news reporters showed up.
Now the big guns from Cal-Fire showed up from their air base in Ramona. The air boss flew in first to direct the bomber's activities.
Soon to follow were two bombers to help check the spreading of the fire.
All this activity continued for a little over an hour and a half before they had the fire check. There were fire crews on scene for three or four hours before the fire was really out. According to reports, a total of about 30 acres burned. Several houses were threatened but no damage. We did not evacuate.
If you look closely at the center of the photo below, you can see line crews working on the hill.
