All evacuation orders and warnings were lifted Saturday for a 466-arce wildland fire in the Potrero area that destroyed three structures and damaged a fourth.
The Coyote Fire was 55% contained Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire Riverside.
"The last 24 hours had great progress getting it all buttoned up before the storm comes in," Cal Fire Public Information Officer Jason Nailon told City News Service on Saturday.
"We are striving for 100% containment in the next 24 hours. Crews will remain on the line mopping up with firefighters on scene. Rain coming in tonight is looking good," Nailon added.
A total of 503 personnel were assigned to the blaze, including 64 engines, six water tenders, two helicopters, eight hand crews and two dozers.
The fast-moving blaze erupted for unknown reasons around noon Thursday amid heavy winds off Coyote Holler Road in Potrero, approximately five miles north of Tecate, according to Cal Fire.
The only reported injury from the blaze was a minor case of heat-related trauma suffered by a firefighter.
Soon after the fire broke out, it was spreading perilously close to homes along Horizon View Drive, Round Potrero Road and Yerba Santa Road as ground crews and personnel aboard air tankers and water-dropping helicopters fought the flames.
In all, the blaze was an immediate threat to about 80 homes, said Mike Cornette, a fire captain with the state agency. Along with the dwellings in the direct path of the flames, officials evacuated Potrero Elementary School.
A temporary shelter was established for the displaced residents at Mountain Empire High School on Buckman Springs Road in Pine Valley, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department advised. Those with livestock and other animals in need of a safe haven were directed to the San Diego County South Shelter on Sweetwater Road in Bonita.
All schools in the Mountain Empire Unified School District were closed for the day Friday due to the fire, the San Diego County Office of Education advised.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
