Fire Chief says May fires "worse than 2007"

When Bill Metcalf, chief of North County Fire, called the firestorms that threatened Fallbrook last week “worse than 2007,” it was apparent he had a grim story to tell.

Metcalf, who has overseen local firefighting efforts in three critical times for Fallbrook - 2003, 2007, and now, 2014, detailed the experience.

“Last week we didn’t have the sheer acreage that burned in 2007, but having nine simultaneous events going on at once made it worse than 2007,” said Metcalf. “It was a challenge sending resources to help at other locations, while keeping enough to protect what’s at home. In a normal fi...