The county board votes 4-0 to enhance fire defense, including adding a new $20M helicopter, amid rising concerns over wildfire risks.

A new wildfire was reported today at 5:58 a.m. in San Diego County. The wildfire has been burning on private land. At this time, there is no data on the containment status of the fire and the cause has yet to be determined.

Over 1,100 firefighters were “strategically pre-positioned” across Southern California to address "ongoing critical fire weather," Cal Fire said.

A new wildfire was reported today at 10:04 p.m. in San Diego County. Sawday Fire has been burning on private land. There is no update on the containment progress of the fire and its cause remains unknown.

Nearly half of San Diegans are renters and have certain legal rights if their home is destroyed by natural disasters like wildfire.

Prompted by the Los Angeles wildfire disaster, the Board of Supervisors voted to obtain a twin-engine helicopter and more water tenders.

A new fire broke out on Otay Mountain, near the US-Mexico border, on Thursday, January 23, sending plumes of smoke skyward.Live footage captured by ALERTCalifornia/UC San Diego’s cameras shows the blaze which has a “dangerous rate to spread”.

With parts of Los Angeles County still smoldering from wildfires, the expected rain this weekend would seem like a welcome relief. But how the rain falls could make the difference between a disaster respite or a disaster repeat.

The last time it was this dry in January, there were barely more than 500 people in San Diego. The year was 1850, and only a quarter-inch of rain had fallen in six months. It made the region ripe for wildfire — but that wasn’t much of a concern. The city’s population was clustered along the coast, far from the backcountry, where most fires burned.

Here are fires that started in San Diego this week: A brush fire was burning close to homes in La Jolla on Thursday afternoon and quickly prompted evacuations, which have since been lifted. The Gilman Fire sparked around 2:30 p.m. near Gilman Drive and Via Alicante, not far from Interstate 5 and UC San Diego's campus.

Former San Diego Fire Chief Jeff Bowman, who was in charge back during the Cedar Fire of 2003, said San Diegans need to protect their homes.