20,000 acres burned by wildfires as police arrest 3 for arson


Wildfires north of San Diego, California have already burned more than 20,000 acres. And they're showing no signs of letting up just yet, despite firefighters' best efforts. (Via Flickr / DVIDSHUB)

Fire officials in southern California did say calmer winds helped to partially contain some of the blazes. Still, several homes have been lost, and at least one person was killed in the blazes this week. The flames have also spurred wild fire tornadoes in some cases and have forced evacuations near San Marcos, Escondido and across the region. (Via KABC)

Friday saw the arrest of several people suspected by police of starting fires or helping them grow. A 57-year-old man pleaded not guilty to an arson charge after police accused him of trying to add fuel to a fire. He's being held on $75,000 bail.

Elsewhere, a 19-year-old, shown here by KCBS, was arrested along with an unnamed juvenile on suspicion arson in the Escondido area.

Here's a look at some of the biggest wildfires north of San Diego. Fire officials say 10 fires popped up from Tuesday to Thursday. The cause have not been determined. Moving farther north, the region's newest fire forced the evacuation of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Friday. A firefighter from the camp was hospitalized from heat exhaustion but is recovering. (Via Google)

NBC reports that the Camp Pendleton fire was at zero percent containment as of Friday afternoon.