The so-called Harris Fire fire began in Potrero, near the Mexican border with the town of Tecate. The winds are pushing the flames west, across the 94 freeway and into Dulzura. KPBS Reporter talked to Matt Streck with Cal Fire for the latest information.
I just spoke with Matt Streck of Cal Fire. He just helped four burned firefighters into a helicopter. They have been airlifted to the burn center at UCSD. Their lives are apparently not in jeopardy, but he says burn injuries tend to show their true damage over time.
Between four and eight civilians are injured, possibly more. One civilian has been killed.
Streck says this is a particularly tough fire to fight.
Streck: The fire is driven by the Santa Ana winds......all literally horizontal with the winds... It's very hard for us to see what's going on underneath the smoke.
He says the weather conditions will only get worse in the next few days. The Santa Ana winds will get drier and stronger as the week begins. They're expected to become hurricane-force winds -- 80 miles per hour or more.
Streck says numerous structures have been destroyed or damaged. It's not clear how many of those are homes.
