A brush fire charred about 3,000 acres in the southeastern reaches of Camp Pendleton by early today, forcing evacuations of thousands of people from base housing and neighborhoods in nearby Oceanside.
The blaze also prompted the closure of three schools today in the Oceanside Unified School District -- Del Rio, Libby and Reynolds elementary schools, according to OUSD's Web
The Juliet Fire -- the second blaze to erupt on the grounds of the Marine Corps base in less than a week -- began spreading amid dry, moderately breezy conditions about 3 p.m. Monday, according to Cal Fire.
As of 3:20 a.m. today, the fire had spread to about 3,000 acres with no structural loss or injuries, according to base officials.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
Authorities cleared all residents out of several base housing developments around Vandegrift Boulevard and from more than 1,000 homes in Oceanside's Wilmont Estates neighborhood, near Papagallo Drive, and the Pilgrim Creek district, in the area of Luiseno Park.
The city used a ``reverse 911'' telephone system to notify those in threatened areas. Oceanside residents were instructed to go to an American Red Cross evacuation center set up at El Camino High School. Military families were encouraged to go to the Stuart Mesa Housing Office on base.
Last week's blaze broke out Wednesday afternoon and blackened about 1,500 acres in a remote part of the base, resulting in no structural damage and requiring no evacuations.
