Evacuations lifted as crews mop up fire near Fashion Valley mall
Jan 21, 2025
All evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday afternoon as crews continued to mop up a blaze that burned 15 to 20 acres across the street from Fashion Valley mall.
The blaze burned along the hillsides north of Friars Road west of state Route 163, prompting neighborhoods to the north and west to be placed under an evacuation order or warning around noon, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue authorities.
A stretch of Friars west of the freeway remained closed.
Helicopters dropped water as flames moved uphill toward a large apartment complex. Police and firefighters asked people to leave.
A fire in Mission Valley burns on Tuesday, Jan., 21, 2025. (Jim Grant / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)Crews are battling a fast moving fire near Fashion Valley mall Tuesday. (Caleb Lunetta/San Diego Union-Tribune)
A San Diego Sheriff’s helicopter lands on Friars Road near where a fire had broken out on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Firefighters work to contain a fire close to apartments on Friars Road on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Firefighters work to contain a fire. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)Show Caption1 of 5A fire in Mission Valley burns on Tuesday, Jan., 21, 2025. (Jim Grant / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)Expand
The evacuation area stretched from roughly from the freeway west to Via Las Cumbres in Mission Valley, and from Friars Road as far north as Genesee Avenue in the Linda Vista neighbrohood.
Snapdragon Stadium was used as a temporary evacuation point.
Evacuation warnings for a larger swath were canceled earlier in the afternoon.
The San Diego County Office of Education evacuated its Linda Vista campus and the Linda Vista Innovation Center. Officials later posted on X that its Linda Vista locations would remain closed Tuesday and reopen for regular business hours Wednesday.
The San Diego Humane Society was at one point under evacuation warning and on “high alert” but did not evacuate, spokesperson Nina Thompson said.