Firefighters are battling 9 separate wildfires in Southern California's San Diego County. The fires

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• published: 03 Aug 2015
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Nine wildfires covering more than 14 square miles scorched San Diego County on Wednesday, forcing thousands to flee their homes and prompting the closures of a college campus and Legoland California. No major injuries were reported. Firefighters contended with temperatures approaching 100 degrees and gusty winds as they tried to contain flames fueled by brush and trees left brittle by drought. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries _ one heat-related and one from smoke inhalation. The biggest concern late Wednesday was in San Marcos north of San Diego, where a new blaze broke out in the late afternoon, some 21,000 evacuation notices were sent to residents and a California State University campus with nearly 10,000 students was evacuated. The most destructive of the fires was in the coastal city of Carlsbad, about 30 miles north of San Diego and home to Legoland. The park was closed because of a power outage caused by the fire. Captain Dave Allen, Cal Fire "There's 9,095 acres burned from all fires now," said Cal Fire Captain Dave Allen. The city's schools also were closed, as most of the county's would be on Thursday, and officials expected they wouldn't reopen until next week. Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall said the blaze consumed an eight-unit condominium complex, as well as damaged eight homes and two businesses. Thousands were asked to evacuate their homes. As the flames surged, a steady stream of residents stopped at a roadblock on a four-lane thoroughfare as they tried to return home to collect valuables. As authorities yelled "Please evacuate!" in Joe Post's neighborhood, he grabbed a garden hose and doused a palm tree in flames between his home and his neighbor's. He debated about leaving his home, but he was worried what he might find upon returning. "Work, water, work. That's what I was thinking," Post said later about how he sprayed water around his property. "You'd put it out, and it would come right back. Because the wind was so strong." As the afternoon wore on, firefighters made progress in stopping the blaze's spread, and 10 percent of it was contained by early evening. Other areas in the county also flared up, then calmed down by nightfall. Carlsbad firefighter Ken Sugahara said it was especially important to keep the fires from spreading. "Just making sure we put it out so this one doesn't start more fires." He also said firefighter safety is a major concern. "Yeah, we've already had collapses of the structure on the other side, so safety of our firefighters is always going to be number one." A fire on the edge of San Diego in the community of Lakeside prompted brief evacuations in the early evening Wednesday that were called off a few hours later. Yet another fire blackened 6,000 acres on the Camp Pendleton Marine base, but a handful of evacuations were over by evening. Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for San Diego County, which would free up special resources and funding for the firefight, and state fire officials were creating a central command center for the blazes. Drought conditions have made fire danger extremely high throughout much of California. Officials have encouraged residents in fire-prone areas to prepare evacuation plans and clear brush from near their homes. The Carlsbad fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. and spread through heavy brush before jumping into residential areas. The wind-driven wildfire tossed embers onto roofs and trees, igniting them. Firefighters found themselves evacuating people and battling the blaze at the same time. The city's fire chief said the blazes were unprecedented in his 27-year firefighting career because they are so early in the year. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b39dbb62a10297ebb696e0f89075b6a9 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork