Two hundred firefighters planned to work through the night battling a brush fire in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve that ignited Sunday, prompting warnings to hundreds of residents in the area, before crews halted the fire’s progress.
When firefighters arrived shortly after 1:30 p.m., the fire in the canyon was about 1 to 2 acres, and moving east at a slow rate. But as it began to grow, fire officials called for a first and second alarm, and then summoned a number of air resources to help.
Within a couple of hours, the fire grew to around 130 acres and there were 10 aircraft assigned to the blaze, including six helicopters and three air tankers. Two Cal Fire bulldozers and two hand crews also were sent to assist San Diego firefighters on the ground.
Crews gained the upper hand late in the afternoon. Officials announced shortly after 6:30 p.m. that they had halted the forward rate of spread of the fire, which was about 15% contained.
All of the air tankers were released to their bases while three helicopters continued to make water drops.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Dan Eddy said the fire began in a canyon area near where a brush fire in June had charred about 90 acres. The remote location required firefighters to hike about 20 minutes before they could even start fighting the fire, he said.
The area has thick, dry vegetation, but it was considered light to moderate fuel because it is low-lying grass instead of trees.
Eddy told reporters that homes south of the fire were his biggest worry initially, but he said crews were able to keep flames from crossing Sorrento Valley Road. “The thing that concerns me is that we have homes on both sides of the canyon,” he said.
The deputy chief said he was “incredibly thankful” to see residents packing up cars to be prepared to evacuate if necessary, according to Fox 5 video of an afternoon news conference. Eddy said he didn’t see any personal drones being flown in the fire area, which has been a problem at other fires because the drones can interfere with helicopter and tanker flights.
San Diego, CA – August 16: Local residents look on as firefighters battle a 130-acre brush fire in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve on August 16, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
However, some people were seen trying to hike into the canyon, presumably to see and get photos of the fire. They were turned back by firefighters and police, Eddy said.
The canyon preserve, where there are no homes, was put under an evacuation order.
Eight areas located north and south of the preserve were placed on evacuation warnings, including homes and businesses north of the preserve up to state Route 56 and Carmel Mountain Road, and areas east of Interstate 805. Residents living south of the preserve, south of Sorrento Valley Boulevard, also were affected.
Residents in those areas were told to be prepared to leave their homes if ordered to evacuate. Those evacuation warnings were dropped shortly after 7 p.m.
Smoke from the fire drifted for miles, with San Diego police at one point receiving reports of smoke seen along trails in Mission Trails Regional Park, which is about 16 miles east. Residents in La Mesa and Santee also reported smelling smoke from the fire.
Flames were being pushed by north-northwest winds in the area that were blowing around 10 mph, which is slightly stronger than usual, said Sam Zuber, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Rancho Bernardo. The winds were expected to die down to around 5 mph by sunset.
The strong aerial support made repeated drops on the flames as crews on the ground got into position and started their work.
Eddy said firefighting helicopters were scooping up water from ponds on a nearby golf course, while air tankers were going back and forth to bases in Hemet and Ramona.
One of the tankers working the fire was capable of dropping 4,000 gallons of fire retardant at a time and one of the helicopters can drop 1,000 gallons of water, said Cal Fire Capt. Josh Cormode. One of the helicopters assigned to the fire was supplied by San Diego Gas & Electric.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.