Firefighters are on alert throughout San Diego County after officials issue a red flag warning.
High Santa Ana winds and extremely dry air have created the fertile fire conditions. The county managed to dodge a bullet over the weekend -- no fires were reported -- but extra manpower was brought in over the weekend, and crews remain vigilant on Monday.
"Well, what we would like is for everyone to be extremely careful where they live -- make sure they don't accidentally cause any fires," said Chief Charles Maner of the California Department of Forestry. "There's a no-burning proclamation on."
The CDF said that its crews are fully staffed, including 19 eight-person hand crews, plus a couple of air tankers based in Ramona.
The advisory is in effect through Wednesday, reported NBC 7/39's Whitney Southwick.
A wildfire pushed by winds quickly spread over 800 acres of the Cleveland National Forest a few miles east of Orange County suburbs on Monday.
No homes were immediately involved but State Route 241 was closed in the area of the blaze, dubbed the Sierra Fire after a peak where it began.
More than 200 federal, state and county firefighters battled the fire, said forest spokeswoman Joan Wynn.The blaze began about 4:30 a.m., and its cause remained under investigation, Wynn said. Winds were blowing at 35 mph, and smoke stained the sky as far away as downtown Los Angeles, 50 miles away.
The flames were burning east of the Anaheim Hills area of northeastern Orange County.
Cleveland National Forest sprawls over 460,000 acres in segments of wilderness from Orange County south through Riverside and San Diego counties.
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