Fire burning on Camp Pendleton, smoke visible in Fallbrook

Firefighters were gaining containment Wednesday afternoon on a vegetation fire burning on Camp Pendleton that was causing smoke to be visible from the Fallbrook area Monday and Tuesday.

The North County Fire Protection District  in San Diego County first tweeted about 1:20 p.m. Monday that the fire was burning in an impact area on the Marine Corps base.

“Currently the smoke is heading in our direction (toward Fallbrook),” North County Fire spokesman John Choi told Village News at the time. “No impact to us.”

Around 4:20 p.m. Tuesday, Camp Pendleton tweeted that the blaze, being referred to as the "Oak Fire" and burning in the vicinity of Range 409, was expected to cause smoke the rest of the day. The base reported a few hours later, just before 8 p.m., that the fire had blackened about 80 acres and was 35% contained.

By a little after 1 p.m. Wednesday, the fire had grown to 140 acres but was 50% contained. It was holding at the same acreage with 77% containment Thursday morning.

Choi said on Tuesday the fire posed no threat to populated areas of northern San Diego County.

2:15 p.m. Tuesday: This story has been updated with the latest information on the fire's size and containment.

4:50 p.m. Tuesday: This story has been updated to indicate the fire is still producing smoke Tuesday afternoon.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].