Firefighters in ‘Mop-Up’ Mode Day After Fairmount Fire Threatened Talmadge Homes

Posted on November 1, 2024
Fire units on the scene at a vegetation fire in the Talmadge area. Photo credit: @SDFD via X

The Fairmount fire remains at 25% containment the day after it threatened homes and forced residents to flee homes throughout Talmadge.

Fifteen crews from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department were set to continue mop-up operations through Friday while Montezuma Road between Collwood Boulevard and Fairmount Avenue remains closed.

The fire, which damaged six homes, broke out Thursday afternoon, sending police scrambling to order residents away from neighborhoods southeast of a broad swath of brush-filled green space off Montezuma and Fairmount.

Officers quickly swept through whole blocks, including Lila and Lucille drives, calling for residents to leave immediately.

The evacuations extended south of Alvarado Canyon Road, west of Hewlett Drive, north of Monroe Avenue and east of Montezuma, and police shut down several streets that lead to neighborhoods to the west of San Diego State.

Authorities lifted the evacuation orders by 9 p.m. Thursday, allowing residents to return home. Many, some carrying their pets, found themselves at the Allied Gardens Recreation Center, the place designated for evacuees to gather.

Units from multiple agencies, including CalFire San Diego, assisted SDFD in responding to the fire. Copter 3 joined the firefight, with more air support called in to drop water and retardant on the flames.