CAMPO, Calif. (AP) — Residents in rural San Diego, Calif., are waiting to learn the fate of their homes near a 4-square-mile wildfire that's left one man dead.
The blaze already has destroyed 20 homes.
Resident Christopher Kirchner tells the U-T San Diego newspaper that his rental home is about 200 feet from one home that burned down. He says his neighbors "were crying and saying they had no place to go."
Sheriff's Lt. Rose Kurupas tells the newspaper that the man found dead in his home felt he would be OK if he stayed.
Neighbors reported the man missing when they saw his vehicle parked at the home. They say he was 82 and had one leg.
The community of Tierra del Sol remains under evacuation orders, though residents of two other small communities have been allowed to return home.
The blaze has been fanned by winds that gusted up to 30 mph, spreading it across more than 2,400 acres of desert brush near the U.S.-Mexico border.
How it started remains under investigation.
