SAN DIEGO — A fire that has been burning at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton since about 12:45 p.m. Saturday has grown to 2,500 acres, but fire officials say it is 41 percent contained and they do not expect it to move anymore.
The fire should be completely contained by Tuesday, base officials said.
Camp Pendleton firefighters responded to the fire Saturday afternoon and were joined by local, county, state and U.S. Forest Service firefighters to fight the flames from the ground and the air. More than 300 firefighters battled the fire Sunday, according to a Marine Corps press release.
The fire began near Lake O’Neill, close to the base hospital and a family housing area. More than 200 people were evacuated from the housing area and 30 from the hospital, and the hospital stopped accepting new patients Saturday afternoon because of a power outage, base officials said. The families that had to leave their homes moved to a field house, and then allowed to stay in temporary apartments on base until they returned to their homes Sunday night, officials said.
The patients evacuated from the hospital were sent to other local hospitals, and the base hospital was back to normal operations by Saturday night, according to a Marine Corps press release.
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