San Diego County battles brush fires as heat wave continues

RAMONA, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) -- Flames crackled across San Diego County as four brush fires burned in Caramel Valley, Spring Valley, Mission Valley and Ramona on Friday.

"Cal Fire and the San Diego Fire Department contained all four blazes at less than five acres," said Fire Captain Robert Johnson with Cal Fire San Diego County Fire.

This comes as heat blasts East County with an extreme heat warning in the San Diego deserts, and a heat advisory in the inland valleys and mountains until Saturday night.

“It’s kind of what we live with up here," Ramona resident Rob Schwarz said. "There’s not a lot we can do about it.”

Another Ramona resident also commented about the heat in the area.

“It always seems to get really hot when school goes back in session, and this was our first week back in, so yeah. It gets hot,” Ramona resident Chris Gunnett said.

But the heat and elevated fire risk haven’t stopped crowds of people from enjoying the Ramona Rodeo, which is in town until Saturday.

“I'm excited to see the kids race the sheep and do the 'mutton bustin’," Ramona resident Miles Gunnett said when asked about the rodeo.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the National Weather Service forecasts a 30 to 40 percent chance of thunderstorms in the mountains with dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning strikes.

“Currently in the backcountry, the live fuel moisture in the brush is below 60 percent," said Captain Johnson.

Anytime moisture levels in this dry brush drop that low, Cal Fire says there’s potential for explosive fire behavior, especially if a fire were to ignite by a lightning strike.

“Fire crews are on high alert," said Captain Johnson. "They are prepared."

Cal Fire stationed additional firefighters during this extreme heat event, and residents say they’re doing their part to prevent fires.

“We’ve lived through a couple of the fires that have come through here, and you just take care of business, but they’ve done much better on response times as well, so I'm not really worried," Gunnett said.

And California has already seen increased fire activity.

Cal Fire reports a total of 5,362 wildfires so far this year, compared to 4,705 wildfires by this time last year.

"California and San Diego County are no longer in a seasonal fire season," said Captain Johnson. It is a year-round fire season."

While small, these brush fires remind residents of the ongoing dangers during the weekend fun.

Schwarz advises to “stay safe, drink lots of water, and enjoy a good show.”

Cal Fire also reminds people to create defensible space now, have an evacuation plan ready and pack a go-bag for at least three days in case a fire ignites in your area.