SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Nearly 900 firefighters were struggling to contain a 600-acre wildfire near the picturesque town of Julian, which has survived three major blazes since 2002.
The fire, which was about 30 percent contained Wednesday night, destroyed 20 hunting cabins and four trailers, according to a recorded telephone message from the California Department of Forestry. It spread quickly in the Volcan Mountain area north of Julian in San Diego County, but the wind was blowing it away from Julian and it posed no immediate threat to the town, said California Department of Forestry spokesman Matt Streck.
''There's obviously something special about Julian,'' Streck said. ''It's been very fortunate.''
The blaze broke out Tuesday in a rugged timber area where about one-fourth of the trees are dead from drought and infested with bark beetles, Streck said.
A total of 863 firefighters from 70 engine companies, 20 camp crews, nine bulldozer crews and eight helicopters were battling the blaze, according to the forestry department.
One firefighter was hospitalized after receiving 15 bee stings to the face, but was expected to recover, Streck said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, the forestry department message said.
The most recent threat to Julian was the Cedar fire, which began Oct. 25, 2003, in the Cleveland National Forest east of San Diego. That wildfire burned 422 square miles, killed 15 people, destroyed more than 2,400 homes and caused $819 million in property damage.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
