Oceanside Firefighters Put Out Trash Fire in Storm Pipe

Firefighters extinguished a burning rubbish pile inside a large storm drain in Oceanside near the San Luis Rey River, a fire official said.

Firefighters dispatched about 1:20 p.m. Friday found dark smoke billowing from the horizontal 4-foot diameter pipe at Academy Road and Mission Avenue, Battalion Chief Felipe Rodriguez of the Oceanside Fire Department said.

Rodriguez said the storm drain system that leads to a known transient camp in the riverbottom, and there was a possibility that people were inside the pipes. Fire crews decided to extinguish the blaze instead of letting it burn itself out.

Firefighters entered the pipe to put out the burning trash, which was in an enclosed space with limited access about 120 feet inside the pipe, and to search for possible victims, Rodriguez said. No victims were located, he said.

Smoke from the fire travelled about half a mile through the storm drain system to the vicinity a school near Frazee and North Old Grove roads, but cleared up shortly after the fire was put out, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the cause of the fire had not been determined.