Firefighters have nearly contained the Monte Fire that has burned over 1,000 acres in eastern San Diego County, and authorities over the weekend downgraded the evacuation orders and warnings that were in place for surrounding areas. A brush fire that broke out near Lakeside โ dubbed The Monte Fire โ started around 3 p.m. Tuesday and has since burned 1,051 acres near the 15000 block of El Monte Road by the Barona and Capitan Grande reservations and the El Capitan Reservoir.
Cal Fire San Diego and San Diego County Fire firefighters by the weekend had nearly contained the fire, which was reported to be 90% contained as of Sunday morning. Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for areas surrounding the brush fire after it broke out Tuesday. Authorities over the weekend fully lifted all evacuation orders and evacuation warnings due to improved containment of the fire, which was burning in a remote area not near any homes, according to the San Diego County Sheriffโs Department.
As of Sunday evening, the evacuation warnings and road closures that were in place were lifted for the Monte Fire, according to the sheriffโs department and Alert San Diego. More than 800 Cal Fire firefighters, along with helicopters, dozers, and firefighting air tankers, have been battling the large brush fire, and are continuing to build containment lines while actively searching for and extinguishing hotspots in the fireโs perimeter as they make progress on containment, according to Cal Fire.
