Fire east of Santa Margarita is nearing full containment, Cal Fire says
A vegetation fire burning east of Santa Margarita was nearing full containment on Friday.
The Pond Fire was at 95% containment as of Friday morning, and was expected to be fully extinguished Saturday, Cal Fire said in a news release.
Crews will conduct mop-up and patrol operations throughout the weekend, Cal Fire said.
The cause of the fire, which started Aug. 1 near Katacreek Road and Huer Huero Road, still is under investigation.
Fire officials said they initially responded to a structure fire at about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 1 that spread into the vegetation east of Santa Margarita.
The fire grew to 1,962 acres before forward spread was stopped, Cal Fire said.
By then, one home and 13 outbuildings had been destroyed and another home had been damaged, officials said in a news release.
Cal Fire said several strategies helped limited the spread of the blaze.
Those included clearing of 450 acres brush in February, ranch road improvements for better access and GIS mapping to help with response planning, the agency said.
“These pre-fire management strategies are focused on known high risk-high hazard areas throughout the county,” Cal Fire said in the release, “and are intended to help reduce damage to property and infrastructure, keep residents and motorists safe, and provide firefighters every opportunity possible to plan and conduct aggressive firefighting operations while doing so safely and effectively.”
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