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150 Homes Evacuated As San Diego County Wildfire Grows

SAN DIEGO (CBS) — A brush fire that forced residents in eastern San Diego County to evacuate 150 homes grew to 800 acres on Monday.

At least one structure has been destroyed since the fire began around 2 p.m. on Sunday in a rural area northeast of Campo near the Golden Acorn Casino.

The road to the casino was shut down as the fire burned over 400 acres and customers were urged to stay inside, where an evacuation center was also set up.

San Diego County fire official Nick Schuler told KNX 1070's Tom Reopelle the department will continue to use all their resources to fight the blaze.

"We have approximately 200 firefighters on scene now, we utilized our fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft throughout the day, and many of them will be back," said Schuler.

Supervisor Arlene Fletcher with the San Diego County sheriff's communications center says the fire east of Campo was 5 percent contained at 6:15 a.m. Monday.

Fletcher says the evacuation remains in effect but became voluntary overnight. She says winds are expected to kick up Monday and a red flag warning is due to take effect at noon.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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