San Diego County fires seem to be dying down

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KABC) -- Five of nearly a dozen large-scale wildfires burning in San Diego County have been fully contained. Six large wildfires remain active, mostly on Camp Pendleton.

Thousands of firefighters and fleets of water-dropping military and civilian helicopters planned fresh battles Saturday, but most of the blazes seemed to be dying down. Ground and airborne personnel were being aided by cooler temperatures and weakening winds.

Three fires continued to burn at Camp Pendleton as of Saturday morning.

A 15,000-acre blaze, dubbed the "Las Pulgas Fire," began Thursday and was 40 percent contained. A new fire Friday that quickly grew to 1,000 acres in the Talega area was 25 percent surrounded Saturday.

A 6,500-acre fire that started Wednesday at a neighboring Navy weapons station and rolled onto the base and the city of Fallbrook was 75 percent contained.

At their peak, the fires prompted about 8,400 military personnel and their families to be sent home from various parts of the sprawling coastal base between Los Angeles and San Diego, but some housing-area evacuations were lifted, base spokesman Jeff Nyhart said.

The most destructive fires erupted in San Marcos and Carlsbad. The "Cocos Fire", which hopscotched through San Marcos and neighboring Escondido, was 70 percent contained Friday night after burning 2,520 acres. Cal Fire reported that most of the active flame had been doused by late Friday afternoon, but 1,500 homes remained threatened.

The "Poinsettia Fire" burning off Poinsettia Lane and Alicante Road in Carlsbad was 90 percent contained at 600 acres Saturday. Meantime, a badly burned body was found Thursday in a Carlsbad transient camp. The victim's name and cause of death have not been released.

The fire that erupted southwest of Rancho Bernardo was 95 percent contained Saturday after torching 1,548 acres between Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Santa Fe, prompting the initial evacuation of about 20,000 households. The evacuations have since been lifted.

A backhoe operator at a development site near Del Norte High School accidentally started the fire while digging trenches, San Diego fire officials said Friday.

All together, the fires have scorched more than 20,000 acres and caused more than $20 million in damage. One person has died and at least eight homes, an 18-unit condominium complex and two businesses have been destroyed.

The fires spread field of flame, smoke and ash that dirtied the air in neighboring Orange County and as far north as Los Angeles County.

Eight of the San Diego County blazes popped up between late morning and sundown on Wednesday, raising suspicions that some had been set. Investigators continued to seek the causes of the fires.

Alberto Serrato, 57, pleaded not guilty to an arson charge Friday. He is suspected of sparking one of the smaller fires, a 105-acre fire in Oceanside that started Wednesday and has since been contained.

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office says witnesses saw Serrato adding brush to the flames near homes but he was not seen starting the fire.

Escondido police arrested two people, Isaiah David Silva, 19, of Escondido, and an unidentified 17-year-old, for arson in connected with two small fires that were extinguished within minutes. No evidence was found linking the suspects to the large-scale wildfires.

Investigators will visit each burn site and go down a list to determine a cause, marking what they know and don't know.

The Associated Press and CNS contributed to this report.