Crews continue to battle 980-acre brush fire southeast of Julian

Tuesday, May 28—

Hundreds of firefighters today battle a brush fire that has charred 980 acres southeast of Julian in the far reaches of eastern San Diego County, authorities said.

The General Fire, which was roughly 40 percent contained as of Monday night, was 70 percent contained as of 6:30 a.m., according to Cal Fire. The fire broke out in the Banner Grade area south of Highway 78 and east of Highway 79 about noon Sunday.

Full containment was expected Wednesday, Cal Fire reported.

The state firefighting agency, which deployed 1,217 firefighters on the incident, also reported one injury this morning but released no details.

Cal Fire Captain Mike Mohler said the blaze was separate from the San Felipe Fire, which blackened about 2,780 acres of desert north of Scissors Crossing between Thursday afternoon and Sunday evening. The San Felipe Fire was sparked by a prescribed burn that got out of control, according to Cal Fire.

The cause of the General Fire was under investigation.

No structures were threatened, Mohler said.