More than 170 firefighters on Wednesday continued battling a brush fire that ignited Tuesday near Interstate 8 in East County and forced evacuations in Campo, a fire official said.
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The blaze, called the Tusil fire, broke out around 1:15 p.m. near Tusil Road on the Campo Reservation, just north of I-8 and quickly spread in a south and southwest direction, Cal Fire officials said. Within hours, the fire jumped south of I-8.
Fire officials said flyover mapping of the fire on Wednesday put the total size at around 820 acres, less than the 1,000 acres previously estimated. No homes have been lost, although the fire did damage one outbuilding and a vehicle.
The blaze was 55% contained as of Wednesday afternoon.
Interstate 8 reopened to drivers, although some lanes were closed on and off due to firefighting efforts.
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On Tuesday night, the evacuation zone was tightened to an area immediately north and south of I-8, between La Posta Road and Tusil Road, not in an area with homes.
All affected residents in the greater area were allowed to return to their homes sometime after 8 p.m. Tuesday, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette said.
He said fire investigators were on scene and would try to determine what sparked the fire. It could take several days until crews have full containment.
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