What to KnowFirefighters responded to a small brush fire at Ted Williams Parkway and Pomerado RoadThe brush fire was halted at 3 acres but crews will remain on scene for hours to temper hotspotsThe evacuation order has been liftedTraffic on both Ted Williams and Pomerado is impacted. Tarzana road was closed A brush fire sparked in Poway Monday afternoon amid a red flag warning, which prompted evacuation warnings for the surrounding community before it was halted at three acres. The fire was reported at around 1:20 p.m. on Pomerado Road and quickly grew to two acres, threatening homes. Footage from SkyRanger 7 showed the brush fire near some townhomes as crews with both Cal Fire San Diego and Poway Fire doused flames. Several firefighting apparatus were staged at a parking lot on a hillside above the fire area. At least two firefighting helicopters were dousing flames from above. Some hotspots were raging at about 2:15 p.m., sending a thick plume of black smoke. By about 2:40 p.m., firefighters said the blaze’s forward progress was stopped. What was once black smoke turned to white, a good indication crews had a handle on the blaze. Crews remained on scene for several more hours to cut a containment line around the blaze and to monitor for flare-ups. Ted Williams Fire near Poway, Evacuation Warnings Issued https://t.co/vdhl2bMdoh — AlertSanDiego (@AlertSanDiegoCo) January 20, 2025 When the fire erupted, San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies went door-to-door urging neighbors to evacuate. Residents on Glen Oak Way, Wilsey Way, Pomerado Road and Ted Williams Parkway were later sent an evacuation warning, per officials. A temporary Evacuation Point is located at Abraxas High School, 12450 Glen Oak Rd, Poway, CA 92064. One resident who was nearby when the fire erupted said she grabbed her cats and took only what was on her back to leave as quickly as possible. “I heard these big bangs, a couple of big bangs and I came outside to see what’s going on and I saw ash floating over my head and I started smelling smoke,” Judy Andry said. “Next thing I know, I looked and I saw flames in the field.” Some questioned why it took firefighters so long to begin making aerial water drops. Poway battalion chief Jesus Ramirez said they will investigate but delays could have been due to resources being deployed to other areas and needing to make their way back to the Poway area. “Resources are stretched thin. Ourselves, San Diego city all the departments in our county are stretched thin,” Ramirez said. We do have crews up in Los Angeles at this time but we ensure that we have backstaff and fill-in of all our station and all our apparatus. So we don’t have a shortage of apparatus or equipment but we are concerned when its still in January and we’re still having multiple Santa Ana events.” The brush fire sparked amid Santa Ana winds across San Diego County, which prompted a red flag warning to warn of fire danger. The cause of the blaze remained under evacuation. At the time the fire erupted, wind speeds were slow but humidity levels were drastically low, which was creating the potential for a difficult firefight, NBC 7’s Greg Bledsoe said. Wind speeds were expected to pick up late Monday and overnight into Tuesday. Bledsoe said some winds could reach 80 mph. Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.