183-acre Bunnie Fire prompts evacuations outside San Diego

Air and ground crews fought blaze that exploded within hours

The Bunnie Fire near Ramona, California, is seen from the air on 9 August, 2023 (Cal Fire / San Diego County Fire)

A fire on the outskirts of San Diego on Wednesday prompted evacuation orders and closed roads.

Before noon, a brush fire began near Chuck Wagon Road, outside Ramona, California, in the hills northeast of San Diego.

The blaze, dubbed the Bunnie Fire, grew to 184 acres by 7pm local time while exhibiting a "dangerous rate of spread," officials told NBC 7.

Evacuation orders were then lifted shortly after 8pm.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said there were no reports of injuries or structural damage.

Crews were fighting the fire on the ground, while aircraft are dropping water and retardant on the blaze from above as it spread across hilly, dry terrain.

A temporary staging area for horses and other livestock had been set up by the Ramona Municipal Water District in the arena and parking lot at the Ramona Rodeo Ground.

On Wednesday, temperatures reached up to 80 degrees, with winds of about 15 mph, according to the Weather Channel.

Aerial photos showed a large plume of grey smoke rising above the fire.

Sections of roadway including San Vicente Road and Wildcat Canyon Road were closed to civilian traffic as firefighters battled the blaze.

By 2.30pm local time, firefighters had “significantly” slowed the spread of the fire, officials told NBC San Diego.

“We have air resources based out of Ramona and Gillespie, so very short flight time for them,” Cal Fire captain Michael Cornett said at a news conference on Wednesday. “Those are the air tankers and helicopters. We also sent a large ground-resource request in from all over the county, including San Diego city, some from North County, Forest Service and San Diego County Fire Department.”

More than 4,000 wildfires have burned over 112,000 acres in California this year, causing three firefighter deaths and no civilian casualties, according to Cal Fire data.