Rampant destruction in Poway

Poway:

In Poway, a city of about 50,000 people northeast of San Diego, an enormous fork of the so-called "Witch" fire exploded at dusk and began racing across hillside developments peppered with million-dollar homes. Seventy structures, almost all of them homes, had been lost by 7:30 p.m., said City Atty. Lisa Foster. About 7,000 households were under a mandatory evacuation, and about two-thirds of the town's population had left. There had been no reported injuries to firefighters or civilians.

Numerous houses had been lost on St. Andrews Drive, Old Coach Road, Old Winery Road and in the housing developments the Heritage and the Maderas.

A menacing fire was churning through the northeast portion of Poway, known as High Valley. Firefighters were attempting to block twin walls of flames from jumping over Espola Road, a main north-south thoroughfare through Poway. But they made no promises. Even with emergency aid pouring into the region, there were still just 80 firefighters in the city of Poway -- about one for every structure that had been lost. At one point Monday afternoon, three separate fires burned in Poway, each destroying structures, said Fire Division Chief Kevin Kitch.

"The entire area is just starved for resources," Kitch said. "This is just too big. There are structures being lost as we speak."

The fires were driving across the city from east to west and were not expected to stop anytime soon, Kitch said. Wind gusts of as high as 38 mph were expected on Tuesday, though the relative humidity was expected to rise a bit, perhaps to as high as 20%, he said. Firefighters were hoping that the winds might drop enough to permit large-scale air drops of water or flame retardant.

"We hope the wind moderates enough to get tankers up, just to give us a chance to breathe," Kitch said. "It's all dependent on the weather. This is a very, very intense fire, with shifting winds, driving winds, no moisture, no humidity -- in a drought-stricken area."

It added up to a night alternately terrifying and mesmerizing for residents. Many of them huddled on nearby bluffs and hilltops to watch the flames burrow down the mountain toward the center of town.

"That one started out as a tiny little flame," said Matt Simms, 24, pointing to fire on a hillside across a small valley. Flames were devouring towering trees as he spoke, and several large houses were ablaze. Like many residents, he was wearing a T-shirt wrapped around his face to guard against the smoke. "Now look at it," he said.

His parents live on the other side of that ridge, he said. They were under an evacuation order and he assumed they had escaped, he said.

"But I keep calling, and they don't answer," he said.

Jason Thompson, the owner of a local pool company, raced in a truck through a development called the Grove to evacuate an elderly client. Towering flames were consuming a house just 100 feet away as he shot toward the front gate.

"It's horrible," he said. "Just horrible."

-- Scott Gold