The Labor Day brush fire was a small brush fire that burned parts of

Rancho Peñasquitos Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...

and

Black Mountain Open Space Park Black Mountain Open Space Park is a city park located in the suburbs of San Diego, California. Description The park covers in the Black Mountain Ranch and Rancho Peñasquitos area of northern San Diego. The park offers numerous trails for hiki ...

in September 2005, during the 2005 California wildfire season. Despite its small size, the brush fire was the worst wildfire to affect San Diego City in two years, since the

Cedar Fire The Cedar Fire was a massive, highly-destructive wildfire, which burned of land in San Diego County, California, San Diego County, California, during October and November 2003. The fire's rapid growth was driven by the Santa Ana wind, causing ...

of 2003. The wildfire resulted in 6 injuries, but did not result in structural damages. The brush fire was determined to have been started by a teenage boy, who was subsequently arrested.

The fire

On Labor Day Monday, September 5, 2005, at around 12:55 PM PDT, at brush fire was reported in a field behind Mount Carmel High School, in

Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego Rancho Peñasquitos is a suburban community in the northeastern part of the city of San Diego, California. It is named after the first Mexican land grant in the county, Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos. ''Peñasquitos'' means "little clif ...

. The wildfire quickly spread northward, fanned by wind gusts of , up the slopes of the Little Black Mountains in

. Within an hour, the brush fire grew from to . The brush fire also began moving towards some nearby homes in Rancho Peñasquitos, resulting in the evacuation of 200 homes in Rancho Peñasquitos. This was the first time that a wildfire had burned into San Diego City, and the Rancho Peñasquitos area, since the

in 2003. In September 2005, this brush fire was said to have been "the worst fire that the an Diego Fire Departmentresponded to since the Cedar Fire", due to the fire's proximity to so many homes. Firefighters were able to quickly stop the spread of the brush fire, with 40% containment of the fire by the evening of the same day, and residents were allowed to return to their homes that evening. Containment of the fire increased to 90% by Tuesday evening, on September 6. By September 7, the brush fire was fully extinguished. Six people were injured in relation to the brush fire; a traffic accident between an SUV and a firefighting vehicle sent 5 civilians to the hospital, and a firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion on September 5. The Labor Day brush fire was determined to have been caused by a teenage boy, who was arrested on charges of arson. His name was not released to the public, due to his age.

References

{{California wildfires by year 2005 California wildfires Wildfires in San Diego County, California September 2005 events in the United States California wildfires caused by arson

The fire

See also

References