Jesusita Fire Evacuation Update
Residents of Painted Cave Area May Start Going Home
As of 10 a.m. on May 13, emergency officials have scaled back the mandatory evacuation order to an evacuation warning in the Painted Cave area. Residents living in the area from Painted Cave Road to East Camino Cielo, East Camino Cielo to Highway 154, and Highway 154 back to Painted Cave Road may return to their homes. They ask, however, that only residents visit the area at this time.
The evacuation warning area is still mostly the same, with only the western boundary moving from Patterson and San Jose Creek to Old San Marcos Road to Highway 154 and 154 to East Camino Cielo. This includes the Trout Club area. East Camino Cielo, east of Painted Cave, and all of Gibraltar Road are still within the mandatory evacuation order and remained closed.
Unfortunately for hikers, 70 percent of the San Marcos Foothills have burned in the fire and are closed pending an analysis by a habitat assessment team on Monday, May 18. The Jesusita Trail, Tunnel Road Trail, and Rattlesnake Canyon Trail have all been closed until further notice. The good news is that the San Antonio Creek Trail is now open.
