SAN DIEGO, July 25 (UPI) -- Fire crews struggled Tuesday to contain a massive blaze over more than 15,000 acres of Southern California's Cleveland National Forest.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported a large air tanker made several passes over the fire, which was only 5 percent contained as of Tuesday afternoon.
Erratic winds frustrated firefighters' efforts to construct some 23 miles of fire lines. The newspaper said the fire is burning brush and chaparral in steep terrain. The area last burned in the massive Laguna fire of 1970.
The U.S. Forest Service said investigators believe the fire was caused by an illegal campfire in Horsethief Canyon. It has burned much of the land between Barrett Lake and Lake Morena in east San Diego County.
Officials said more than 1,500 homes and 100 commercial properties are threatened by the fire, the newspaper said.
Officials also were using an automated system to prepare more than 1,000 people for evacuation.
