A New Year's blaze at a South Bay nursery had San Diego fire crews battling through the night to get the flames under control. The fire ignited shortly before 1:30 a.m. at Terra Bella Nursery, located at 302 Hollister St., and soon thick smoke billowed into the night sky, FOX 5 San Diego reports.
By dawn, while the main strength of the fire had been diminished, the firefighters were still hard at work. SDFD, with aid from neighboring departments, deployed a significant response team, including eight engines and an helicopter to tame the fiery beast. "We have crews from the San Diego Fire Department, our partners in Chula Vista as well as Imperial Beach that have been here for over six hours fighting this fire," SDFD Battalion Chief Tommy Charpentier told FOX 5.
The inferno initially consumed a pile of mulch before spreading to an adjacent stack of pallets. Despite the crews' prompt arrival, the battle with the fire raged on. As the sun ascended, "we were just able to get some heavy equipment operators from the nursery to start pulling back the pile of wood and mulch, allowing us better access to try to extinguish the fire," Charpentier explained in a statement.
The exact cause of the fire remains a mystery. Meanwhile, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department extended gratitude to the City of Chula Vista for their assistance with this emergency. According to an active incident report from SDFD, the response included a wide array of resources, encompassing 11 engines, 2 trucks, and one helicopter among other units, summed to a total of 60 personnel. However, a fire investigator has yet to be assigned.
Despite the New Year's disruption, there have been no assignments made for a Red Cross response, and a Public Information Officer has not been detailed to the incident thus far. Local residents and businesses affected by the thick smoke and fire response will be looking for answers as the investigation into the origin of the fire unfolds.
