Wind-spread fire burns through Clairemont home, displaces 5 people

A wind-swept fire quickly burned through a home and displaced five people before Friday afternoon in Clairemont, a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department official said.

The fire was reported in a single-story house on Mable Way, just west of Interstate 805 around 3:05 p.m., said Candace Hadley, a spokesperson for the fire department. Within minutes, multiple firefighter engines arrived and found the blaze had quickly burned the entire left side of the home.

Hadley said firefighters had to work quickly to extinguish the fire because 15 to 20 mph wind gusts were accelerating the blaze and pushing it toward the next-door neighbor’s home.

“Wind can always be a contributing factor and make the fire move much faster,” Hadley said.

Commuters said they could see black smoke from the nearby Interstate 805 and San Diego police officers responding to the scene reported seeing the smoke plume from as far as Interstate 5 about 5 miles away.

The blaze was ultimately contained to the first home and extinguished by firefighters within 20 minutes, but not before it destroyed about 50% of the house and damaged the wooden fence between the two properties, Hadley said.

No injuries were reported, but one person was evaluated by medics at the scene, Hadley said. The Red Cross was called to assist the residents who were displaced.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.