A quick-moving brush fireplace burned a whole lot of open acres within the far southeastern reaches of San Diego County Wednesday, prompting evacuation orders and shutting down a stretch of Interstate 8.
Crews labored on the bottom and from the air in excessive warmth to battle the Thorn Fire whereas CalFire officers mentioned the blaze posed an “immediate threat to structures in the area.” Deputies evacuated close by properties and companies because of this.
The evacuation orders, which continued to increase as the hearth grew quickly within the night, embrace areas north and south of I-8, bounded roughly on the west the place Old Highway 80 meets I-8, extending to the northeast alongside Williams Road, and past McCain Valley Road to Tule Lake.
The momentary evacuation level is at Golden Acorn Casino, 1800 Golden Acorn Way in Campo.
Streets inside the evacuation zone embrace Williams, Live Oaks Trail, Clements Street, High Pass Road, Lilac Lane, Manzanita and Cottonwood roads, Ribbonwood Boulevard, Ribbonwood Road, Angel Drive, Roadrunner Lane and Rocky Knoll Road.
In addition, some evacuation warnings had been upgraded to orders, one to an space southeast of the hearth zone, reaching state Route 94, and one other farther east and north of I-8.
Other evacuation warnings have been issued, all to the north, approaching the Carrizo Gorge Wilderness Study Area, and northeast of the hearth’s flashpoint alongside I-8.
The Thorn Fire, at 0% containment, was transferring at a “moderate to dangerous rate of spread,” officers mentioned. It had burned practically 700 acres as of 6:40 p.m., properly over double the world, 236 acres, that had been mapped an hour earlier, in response to CalFire. The burn zone had been estimated at simply 50 acres round 5 p.m.
Flames erupted for unknown causes off Buckthorn Trail, south of I-8 and north of Campo Road in Boulevard round 3:30 p.m.
Within an hour, that they had unfold over about 30 open acres, CalFire reported, and evacuations, led by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, had begun.
A phase of I-8 in each instructions is shut down close to the burn space, in response to Caltrans. Eastbound lanes shut at Crestwood Road, and westbound, at SR-94/Ribbonwood Road. The closure, Caltrans mentioned, can be “for an unknown duration.”
#ThornFire [update 5 p.m.] The fireplace is now 50 acres and has crossed Interstate 8 close to Campo. There is a right away menace to constructions within the space. pic.twitter.com/GvIDAigFUl
— CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire (@CALFIRESANDIEGO) July 16, 2026
There can also be a smoke advisory for areas round Live Oak Springs, Boulevard, Tierra Del Sol and McCain Valley.
The area, in the meantime, is dealing with excessive temperatures, within the mid-90s to simply over 100 levels within the inland valleys and the mountains, and as much as 113 in desert communities.
The National Weather Service issued an extreme-heat warning, which stays in impact till 8 p.m. Thursday.
#UPDATE @SDSheriff has up to date the EVACUATION ORDER and EVACUATION WARNING attributable to altering situations on the #ThornFire.
An EVACUATION ORDER is in place for the shaded areas in purple proven within the map beneath. It means everybody within the impacted areas should go away instantly.… pic.twitter.com/NFjWSqU0lX
— San Diego Sheriff (@SDSheriff) July 16, 2026
City News Service contributed to this report.
Updated 7 p.m. July 15, 2026.