Local fire crews knock out 3 blazes
Fire crews in Oceanside and Vista responded to three brush fires in early July, while an alleged arsonist remains jailed for the June 12 Claro Fire in Carlsbad
NORTH COUNTY — A trio of fires were quickly dispatched over the past week in Oceanside and Vista, preventing further destruction amid hot and dry conditions.
The Oceanside Fire Department knocked out wildfires on Saturday and July 1, with Saturday’s blaze at the Oceanside Municipal Airport and the other at North River Road and College Boulevard. In Vista, more than 1,000 people attended the city’s annual July 4 fireworks show, which resulted in a palm tree going up in flames.
Additionally, an alleged arsonist remains in custody at the Vista Detention Center after being arrested by the Carlsbad Police Department for starting the 45-acre Claro Fire on June 12 near Corte Claro and Paseo Encino in Carlsbad. Authorities booked Matthew Thompson, 46, on one count of arson, and he is being held on $200,000 bond.
He will also undergo a mental health evaluation, according to court records. There was no home address listed for Thompson, per court records, although a message to the sheriff’s department asking about his residency was not returned by deadline. Thompson appeared in court twice in June, and his next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 7, court records show.
On July 5, a 3-acre brush fire broke out at the Oceanside Municipal Airport, where Oceanside firefighters were able to knock down the blaze in about one hour, according to OFD Division Chief Blake Dorse. He said the cause of the fire is still under investigation but authorities have spoken to witnesses and are gathering evidence.
Dorse said at least 13 engines responded from several agencies as firefighters had to work through some windy conditions to contain the fire. Efforts were boosted as the ground was flat and the fire was boxed in by the airport runway and Alex Road, he said.
Typically, fires can rage out of control when the topography is hilly and winds are blowing, Dorse said. Since heat rises, a fire will race uphill, while the wind adds speed to the spread.
However, on Saturday, crews were able to use Alex Road as another fire break and stop the fire at 3 acres, Dorse said. No injuries or damage to the airport was reported, although the fire investigator was stung by several bees, he said.
“It was a full wildland response,” Dorse added. “We were able to stop the fire before it left the airport property. It was in a light brush and winds out of the west.”
On July 4, a palm tree at Brengle Terrace Park caught fire after the city’s annual fireworks show. According to Fred Tracey, a city spokesman, the fire originated from one of the fireworks and landed in an approved fallout zone.
An engine with the Vista Fire Department was already on standby at the north end of the park near the baseball fields as part of the show’s protocol. They quickly responded and doused the fire before it could spread further. No injuries were reported, Tracey said.
“The fire originated in the vegetation within an approved fallout zone of a permitted public display (the Independence Day fireworks),” he added. “The ignition source was determined to be hot debris from an aerial shell. The cause is classified as accidental.”
Finally, on July 1, three agencies — Oceanside, Carlsbad and Vista — responded to a wildfire in a river basin near College Boulevard and North River Road in north Oceanside, Dorse said. He said the fire was ruled accidental but started in a homeless encampment.
He said the initial fire was 30 feet by 30 feet and grew, but fire crews were able to stamp out the blaze before igniting nearby structures or more of the river basin.
This is at least the second river basin fire from a homeless encampment since January. On January 25, OFD responded to a call at a drainage basin adjacent to Fireside Park where crews subdued a fire originating in an encampment.
The January fire was about 50 feet by 50 feet, according to a city official on the scene, and no injuries were reported. The area is within several hundred feet of a condo development and single-family residences.
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