What to Know: Border 21 Fire
- Where: In Mexico, between Marron Valley and Tecate
- Acres: 4 in the U.S. with the potential for 2,000. The fire has burned 2,000 acres in Mexico
- An evacuation warning was in place but has since been lifted
A brush fire on the Mexico side of the southern border near Tecate, California scorched at least 2,000 acres of land and had briefly made its way into the U.S., threatening some structures and prompting an evacuation warning before Cal Fire San Diego halted its spread.
The fire has been burning between Marron Valley and Tecate since Wednesday and has scorched 2,000 acres in Mexico, according to Enrique Garcia, director of Tecate Fire and Civil Protection.
On Thursday, the blaze entered into the U.S. and burned four acres but was halted from spreading further north by Cal Fire crews who made fire retardant drops by plane. As the wildfire spread into the U.S., there were about four structures threatened in the area of Tecate Mission Road, which prompted an evacuation order that has since been lifted.
The fire still has the capacity to spread further into U.S. territory, Cal Fire said while reassuring residents crews were at the ready to handle the threat.
**CORRECTED POST**
CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire is at scene of a vegetation fire west of Tecate, CA. This is in the area of the previous #Border20Fire but is being ran as a separate incident. There are four acres burning north of the international border and has a potential
— CAL FIRE/SAN DIEGO COUNTY FIRE (@CALFIRESANDIEGO) July 28, 2023
Garcia says the blaze started at a ranch along the Tijuana-Tecate Highway and that the cause may have been people clearing brush from the land with fire.
No homes or ranches are threatened in Mexico as of Thursday night, Garcia said.
An evacuation order was issued for a small number of homes on the U.S. side. The sheriff’s department released a map of the zone Thursday night and set up a temporary evacuation point at Steele Canyon High School in Spring Valley, the San Diego Sheriff's Department said in a post on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
There is a brush fire burning in Potrero in the southeastern part of the county off of Grapevine Truck Trail and Tecate Truck Trail. The shaded area shown in the map below is under an EVACUATION WARNING. It means there's impending danger to your life or property. If a warning is…
— San Diego Sheriff (@SDSheriff) July 28, 2023
A smoke advisory was issued for Dulzura and Potrero as "overnight winds will become light and begin blowing the smoke toward the northwest into San Diego County." The advisory was lifted on Thursday.
In areas where you smell smoke, it is advised that you limit physical/outdoor activity. If possible, stay indoors to limit your exposure to fine particulate matter and ozone, especially those residents with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly, and children, officials advised.
This is a developing story. We will update as soon as new details become available.
