A strategic fire break helped save Ramona homes; a homeowner’s association had proactively cleared brushland abutting homes on Oak Springs Drive before the Creelman fire Wednesday, July 22, in Ramona.
From San Diego Union Tribune: byCaleb Lunetta | caleb.lunetta@sduniontribune.com and Karen Kucher | karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com | PUBLISHED: July 23, 2026 at 6:40 PM PDT | UPDATED: July 23, 2026 at 6:48 PM PDT
As flames neared homes along Oak Springs Drive in the San Diego Country Estates on Wednesday, a cleared section of land on the western edge of the development played a crucial role in the firefight. The empty space cut off fuel for the flames and helped slow the fire — enough to help firefighters save threatened homes.
“It was vegetation that was already cut back. I would call it a fuel break around the community,” said Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette.
The 347-acre Creelman fire threatened homes in the master-planned community in the Ramona area, which abuts open land and dense vegetation. The community has been hit with fire before, with homes being lost in the Cedar fire in 2003 and the Witch Creek fire of 2007.
Cornette said the space, which is near a county park and which residents say was cleared by a homeowners’ association, “very well helped us in the firefight.”
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