More than a dozen small fires along Hwy 76 Eastbound and the I-15, just north of Hwy 76 in Fallbrook prompted some road closures in the area. “Any fire like this, there’s a lot of confusion initially when we’re getting different people calling 9-1-1 telling us different locations,” Battal ion Chief Thomas Shoots with Cal Fire San Diego said. Cal Fire responded to several calls before noon Saturday from drivers seeing small fires near the Eastbound side of the 76 freeway just north of the 15. When crews arrived, they found the fires burning along the side of roadway. “Most of them were small so 20 feet by 20 feet, others were half acre, most of them were smaller in size. Our biggest one was just over five acres,” Chief Shoots said. Altogether, Cal Fire said the fires burned more than 19 acres. After firefighters stopped the forward progress on the fires, they focused on building containment lines and mopping up hot spots. “We have the fire engines, and the hand crews, and the engines and the water tenders out there all working together to try and make that happen,” Chief Shoots said. Cal Fire said there were no evacuations or threats to homes and buildings. There’s no word yet on what caused the fires to spark, but fire investigators tell NBC 7 since there were so many burning at one time, Cal Fire Riverside and the San Diego Sheriff’s Department were called in to help with the investigation. Firefighters said even though the fires were put out quickly, it’s another reminder for people to be prepared. “It should be a sign for people that you’re ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice and you have a plan for you and your family because these things happen quickly. Situations deteriorate quickly and this is going to be the beginning of the next several months of a lot of things like this,” Chief Shoots said. They ask anyone who may have seen anything to contact the non-emergency phone number for the San Diego Sheriff’s line and let them know. ...read more read less