Wednesday, May 14, Cal State San Marcos was evacuated when the San Diego fire spread to the hills south of the campus. Students living in dorms and apartments nearby were evacuated in hours.

“I think most of the students and faculty were just in disbelief that a new fire had ignited and spread close enough to threaten the campus so quickly,” said Taylor Parrino, SJHHS Alumni and Cal State San Marcos student. “We were given an update in the early afternoon that suggested the campus was not being affected, and minutes later we were instructed to evacuate.”

San Marcos will open up on May 18 and the commencement ceremonies on the 17th and 18th are cancelled until further notice.

The fire started in North County San Diego on Tuesday in 4S Ranch. The four day fire has destroyed a total of 20 acres. 30 homes have been burned and over 15,000 people were evacuated from their houses.

“Those who live on campus were given a short time to gather their belongings and were taken to a nearby high school,” said Parrino.

Multiple fires ignited in the hills of San Diego on Wednesday, but with record breaking heat and strong winds, the fire picked up on Thursday creating the fire that is threaten San Diego County.

San Diego Fire Department and volunteers have contained 10 percent of the fire, but the fires are still extremely dangerous to San Diego and counties around it. Because California is in a drought, the already dry hills have a high chance of ignition.

20 school districts in the San diego County were cancelled for the week, conflicting with AP tests.

There are a total of nine fires around the Orange County area in Mission Hills, Carlsbad, Camp Pendleton, Anaheim, Ventura, Long Beach, Bernando, Miguelito, and San Marcos.

The fires north of Orange County have been contained, but fires in the San Diego county are still burning.