Firefighters and equipment pre-deployed in San Diego County, as heat wave boosts wildfire threat

Gov. Gavin Newsom has pre-deployed more fighting crews and equipment to the San Diego area and four other counties, in case the current heat wave leads to wildfire in a region that is critically dry.

Newsom said a total of 47 fire engines, nine water tenders, nine bulldozers, five helicopters, 10 hand crews, 14 dispatchers and two incident management teams are now in place across Southern California.

The order was issued on Thursday at the start of a late summer heat wave that’s expected to last through Sunday and could involve thunderstorms in mountains. The storms could spark lightning, igniting flash fires.

Temperatures could reach the low to mid 80s near the coast, the upper 90s across inland valleys and mountains and above 110 degrees in the local deserts.

On Thursday, the temperature reached 106 in Campo, breaking the record for the date by 3 degrees. The previous record was set in 2013. Lake Cuyamaca hit 96, two degrees above a record set in 2020. And Palomar Mountain reached 93, tying a record set in 1969.