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San Diego County’s Border 2 fire exploded Friday morning, spreading quickly over more than 4,200 acres early Friday.
Driven by critical fire weather, the new blaze has forced evacuation orders and schools announced they would close for the day.
“The main fire spread they are concerned about is generally spreading in a northern direction,” Cal Fire Captain Robert Johnson said of fire crews working to battle the Border fire.
He told The San Diego Union-Tribune early Friday that firefighters are seeing “some extreme fire behavior currently.”
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County-based Hughes fire, which exploded near Castaic Lake on Wednesday, has spread across 10,396 acres and is at 56 percent containment. And, the Laguna Fire, which started in Ventura County on Thursday, is now 70 percent contained after engulfing 94 acres.
Nine fires are raging across Southern California, including the deadly and destructive Palisades and Eaton fires.
Later in the day, President Donald Trump is expected to visit impacted areas to survey the damage. It’s part of his first presidential trip since taking office.
“And I hope the president comes back after his visit tomorrow and is here for not just the short run, but the long haul,” Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday.
Border 2 fire jumps by 1,139 acres
The Border 2 fire has now burned 5,389 acres, up more than 1,100 acres from earlier this morning.
It is not yet contained, according to Cal Fire.
Julia Musto24 January 2025 20:10
Flash floods and debris flows could hit weary California residents after weeks of devastating wildfires
Julia Musto24 January 2025 20:00
San Diego Sheriff’s Department updates Border 2 fire evacuation orders
Julia Musto24 January 2025 19:50
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will join President Donald Trump for Friday’s emergency briefing on California wildfires
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass will join President Donald Trump for his emergency briefing on Southern California’s January wildfires.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was not included in the list of participants released by the White House on Friday morning.
“My message to him is that the second largest city in the country has been devastated, and we cannot be okay and move forward without federal support,” Bass told The Washington Post.
Julia Musto24 January 2025 19:14
Southern California residents are getting ready for rain
Eugene Escarrega, a Pasadena resident, spoke with ABC 7 as he was grabbing sand bags at a local fire station.
“The problem is right now is there’s a big pile of debris in front of the drain system,” he said. “I’m afraid if they don’t get that today, by tomorrow, we’re going to have a problem. If the water comes straight down, it’s going to come right through my front door.”
Julia Musto24 January 2025 19:07
40-acre brush fire burning near Los Angeles’ Bel-Air neighborhood has now been fully contained
Julia Musto24 January 2025 18:46
San Diego Humane advises residents have an emergency plan for family and pets
Julia Musto24 January 2025 18:40
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says her brother lost his house in the Palisades fire
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says her brother lost his house in the Palisades fire.
“The loss that you’re going through, I share indirectly. It’s hit my family too,” she said at a meeting of the Pacific Palisades Community Council. “My brother, who has lived in Malibu for 40 years, been through many fires, evacuated many times — this time didn’t get away.”
Julia Musto24 January 2025 18:21
Trump claims California wildfire devastation could have partially been prevented ‘if they had water, which they had plenty of but they didn’t use it’
A patchwork of municipal water systems feeds Los Angeles, drawing water from 200 different utilities. They support a system designed to handle lower-level, urban fires — but not multiple large-scale wildfires descending from the hills.
Faced with multiple wildfires moving as fast as five football fields per minute, the system buckled.
While every bit of water helps, using fire hydrants and water hoses isn’t an effective method of battling “multiple onslaughts of fire under high wind conditions,” Faith Kearns, a water and wildfire expert with the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University, told Axios.
Hurricane-force Santa Ana winds have driven this month’s fires.
“Is it going to save a whole neighborhood under those kinds of … high wind conditions? Probably not,” she said.
With reporting from Josh Marcus
Julia Musto24 January 2025 18:01
