Escondido, Valley Center neighborhoods asked to evacuate

By: North County Times staff reports | Monday, October 27, 2003 3:40 PM PST ∞

Some Escondido and Valley Center residents evacuated their homes today, and the Paradise Fire has reached Escondido city limits.

About 100 homes in the Eagle Crest County Club area were evacuated between 10:50 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. The fire reached the boundary at Eagle Crest Country Club area and Old Guejito Canyon Road.

The Escondido Fire Department ordered the evacuation of five streets surrounding the Eagle Crest Golf Club in the southeast portion of Escondido accessed by Cloverdale Road.

Holly Oak Place, Rosewood Lane, Mesa Oak Place, Wild Oak Lane and Ranch View Place have been ordered evacuated.

Residents of 30 homes in the Foxley Drive neighborhood of Escondido, who were evacuated yesterday, are still not allowed to go back to thier homes.

Emmanuel Faith Community Church at 639 E. Felicita Ave. in Escondido is the new evacuation center, replacing Escondido High School, which is no longer being used for evacuations. The church can be reached at (760) 745-2541.

In Valley Center, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department has begun mandatory evacuation of the Paradise Mountain and Hellhole Canyon areas.

Residents should not wait for a sheriff's deputy to make an announcement before evacuating, officials have advised.

St. Peter's Catholic Church, at 450 S. Stagecoach Lane in Fallbrook, is the evacuation center for Valley Center residents.

The Cedar Fire has reached Old Julian Road to the north, Interstate 8 near Harbinson Canyon and Dehesa Road to the south, Viejas Indian Reservation and Descanso to the east and Scripps Ranch and Tierrasanta to the west.

More than 100,000 acres have been burned in the Cedar Fire.

The latest boundaries for the Paradise Fire in Valley Center are Valley Center to Deer Springs in the north, Daily Ranch and Lake Dixon to the west and Bear Valley to the southwest, according to the California Department of Forestry.

The Paradise Fire has burned 17,000 acres.

Staff writers Ken Ma and Gary Warth contributed to this report.

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