A wildfire on Camp Pendleton that prompted evacuations, forced closures of stretches of Interstate 5 and destroyed one building on the Marine base was 65% contained Sunday after charring about 3,160 acres, authorities said.
Firefighters worked through Saturday night strengthening containment lines and were continuing mop-up operations Sunday, extinguishing hot spots and securing the perimeter to prevent further spread, Cal Fire said.
Weather conditions were expected to become more favorable, with higher relative humidity and a shift to onshore winds supporting ongoing containment efforts.
The Henderson fire broke out shortly after 2:30 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Basilone and Las Pulgas roads and rapidly swept dangerously close to populated areas of the military base and within hours, it moved near Interstate 5.
Officials ended up shutting down traffic in both directions on I-5 between Basilone Road and Harbor Drive. The freeway later reopened.
At the height of the fire, there were more than 530 personnel assigned, 44 engines, 2 bulldozers, a water tender, 14 crews, and numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the state flying fire suppression missions as conditions allowed.
The cause of the fire was under investigation. No injuries have been reported.