Overview
- The Rainbow 3 Fire began Wednesday morning near Rainbow Crest Road in unincorporated San Diego County and spread rapidly, triggering Level 3 evacuation orders east of the ridge and Level 2 warnings to the west.
- Cal Fire and local crews deployed roughly 200 personnel, 18 engines and multiple air tankers to fight the fire and halted forward progress by Wednesday afternoon.
- Initial mapping showed the fire had grown above 50 acres, but Cal Fire later refined the burn area to 26 acres and reported the incident reached 100% containment on Thursday.
- Authorities set a temporary evacuation point at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Fallbrook and warned that about ten homes were threatened, though no structural damage or injuries were reported.
- The Rainbow blaze occurred during an intense statewide fire period with about 15 active incidents totaling nearly 100,000 acres, including the much larger Biscar Fire in Lassen County, and officials say the Rainbow cause remains under investigation.