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Public Safety

At Least 65 Homes Destroyed In San Diego County Wildfires

The Poinsettia fire, fueled by strong Santa Ana winds and extreme drought conditions, burns through a neighborhood in Carlsbad, May 2014.
City of Carlsbad
The Poinsettia fire, fueled by strong Santa Ana winds and extreme drought conditions, burns through a neighborhood in Carlsbad, May 2014.

Fire officials have counted at least 65 homes that were destroyed last week in wildfire-ravaged San Diego County.

At least 39 houses were burned in the San Marcos Cocos fire, and another eight were destroyed in the Carlsbad Poinsettia fire. An 18-unit apartment building in was also destroyed in the Carlsbad fire.

Damage estimates have reached more than $20 million and are expected to grow.

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Authorities are also investigating whether the Pointsettia fire in Carlsbad killed one person, whose badly burned body was found near a transient encampment.

Nearly a dozen wind-whipped fires burned about 27,000 acres across San Diego County beginning last Tuesday. Three of those are not yet fully contained.

KPBS has created a public safety coverage policy to guide decisions on what stories we prioritize, as well as whose narratives we need to include to tell complete stories that best serve our audiences. This policy was shaped through months of training with the Poynter Institute and feedback from the community. You can read the full policy here.