The Laguna Mountains are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges in eastern San Diego County, California . The mountains run in a northwest/southeast alignment for approximately 35 miles (56 km).
7-677: The Laguna Fire , also known as the Kitchen Creek Fire or the Boulder Oaks Fire , was a 175,425-acre (70,992 ha) wildfire that burned from September 22 to October 4, 1970, in the Laguna Mountains and East County region of San Diego County in Southern California . It was one of many wildfires in a massive conflagration that spanned across the state from September 22 to October 4, 1970. At
14-825: The Cleveland National Forest . Snow falls on the highest peaks several times a year. Mount Laguna is a village in the Laguna Mountains with a population of about 80. The headwaters of three perennial streams begin in the Laguna Mountains: Noble Creek, Cottonwood Creek , and Kitchen Creek. The Laguna Mountains extend northwest about 35 mi (56 km) from the Mexican border at the Sierra de Juárez range. The Sawtooth Range and In-Ko-Pah Mountains are adjacent to
21-679: The Laguna Fire as having destroyed 382 structures, but reporting by The San Diego Union-Tribune indicates that that figure accounts only for the number of homes destroyed, with more than 1,000 additional structures (such as outbuildings or commercial buildings) lost. Additionally, Cal Fire lists a death toll of five for the Laguna Fire, while the Union-Tribune reports that eight civilians died, but were never identified and were believed to have been undocumented immigrants. Laguna Mountains The mountains have long been inhabited by
28-650: The east. The Santa Rosa Mountains lie further to the northeast. The Cuyamaca Mountains are adjacent along the west. The southern section is in the Mountain Empire region of San Diego County, and the northern section is in the East County region. The Laguna Mountains are a popular recreation area in the Cleveland National Forest . They comprise the southernmost crest along the Pacific Crest Trail . Their relatively high altitude induces
35-749: The indigenous Kumeyaay people. The Laguna Mountains are bordered by the Cuyamaca Mountains area on the west and the Colorado Desert on the east, where the mountains form a steep escarpment along the Laguna Salada Fault . To the north the Laguna Mountains are bounded by the Elsinore Fault Zone and to the south by Cameron Valley and Thing Valley. The highest point is Cuyapaipe Mountain at 6,378 feet (1,944 m). The mountains are largely contained within
42-437: The outskirts of El Cajon and Spring Valley . The fire devastated the communities of Harbison Canyon and Crest . In the end, the fire burned 175,425 acres (709.92 km) before it was contained on October 3, 1970. The Laguna Fire remained among the twenty largest California wildfires until as late as 2020, fifty years later, but it was surpassed by larger, more recent fires and no longer ranks among them. Cal Fire records
49-606: The time, it was the second-largest fire in the recorded history of California after the 1932 Matilija Fire (not counting the Santiago Canyon Fire in 1889, which experts estimate burned approximately 300,000 acres (120,000 ha)). The Laguna Fire was started by downed power lines during Santa Ana winds in the Kitchen Creek area of the Laguna Mountains on the morning of September 26, 1970. In only 30 hours, it burned westward about 32 miles (51 km) to
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