A brush fire on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Monday afternoon sent smoke across the De Luz plateau and into Temecula and Southwest Riverside County, while Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire said the blaze had prompted an evacuation order for the base's 32 Area.
The fire, reported at Range 501 and called the Pipeline Fire, was still active as of 4:15 p.m., when it was burning in moderate fuels with a moderate rate of spread. Smoke from the fire was expected to be visible to base residents, and a smoke advisory was released in north County San Diego.
The smoke spread mattered because it reached well beyond the base fence line. It blanketed Temecula and drifted into Southwest Riverside County even as Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire said no other fires were actively burning in that area at the time, narrowing the likely source of the haze to the Camp Pendleton fire.
What was not stated was how long the evacuation order for the base's 32 Area remained in effect. That leaves the practical question for residents and personnel tied to the fire itself: whether the order was lifted later Monday, or whether the response was still in place as smoke continued to move inland.
