Firefighters from Utah spent Friday battling the Lilac fire, a 4,100-acre wildfire burning in near San Diego.
What’s being called strike teams — made up of more than 100 firefighters from various Utah fire departments — received their assignments Friday morning, according to Joe Dougherty, spokesman for the Utah Division of Emergency Management.
The fire is believed to have destroyed 65 to 90 structures, and is threatening nearly 1,500 more, according to Unified Fire spokesman Eric Holmes said.
The Lilac wildfire is burning in an area popular with equestrians, and horses have been escaping from burning stables, Holmes said.
The Utah firefighters have been assigned to hot spot duty — mopping up smoldering structures and preventing embers from being picked up and spread by the wind, Holmes said.
They were on the opposite end of where the fire was most active on Friday, Holmes said, adding that crews get new assignments every day and may fight the flames from somewhere else over the next few weeks they will be in California.
“This is long from over,” Holmes said.