SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — People living in the area of ​​the Fairmount Fire since last week are thankful the winds have been calm, especially since Santa Ana winds are forecast for later this week.

A San Diego Fire Department spokesman said the fire was 100 percent contained Monday, but the cause was under investigation.

James Dalessio has lived in Talmadge Estates for thirty years. He and his wife were heading home Thursday afternoon when they saw the fire on the highway.

“It was a wall of flames and the smoke was going up and kind of burning, it looked like the northeast,” Dalessio said.

“We took pictures and it was very scary. A lot of our neighbors started to realize it was going to be a significant problem here,” Dalessio said.

He said the fire department’s response was impressive.

“We should have lost our house. There is no reason they could have saved these houses,” Dalessio said.

Firefighters saved every home, but the flames reached Dalessio’s door.

“The fire got so close that it actually burned our welcome mat, which is concerning,” Dalessio said.

Crews aggressively attacked the fast-moving fire with three hundred firefighters on the ground and six different aircraft. In the end, only a few houses had minor damage. But many residents say it should never have happened.

Julie Hamilton is Chair of the College’s Community Council.

“For years we’ve raised the issue and expressed our concern with that canyon and those particular palm trees in a camp there,” Hamilton said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but firefighters say it started in or very close to a homeless camp.

What was a camp near Montezuma is now a charred hill of scorched palm trees.

“This area was extremely dangerous. It was at the bottom of a canyon with heavily populated areas on either side of the road and all it took was a little wind blowing a palm leaf and it was on the other side of Montezuma. Hamilton said.

Mayor Todd Gloria says that’s another reason he pushed for the unsafe camping ordinance last year.

“The City of San Diego is working to reduce encampments every day.

Working with Chief Wahl, we have recently dramatically increased the number of officers working to do this work because the need is there,” said Mayor Gloria.

So is the concern, especially with the Santa Ana wind forecast for later this week. But for now, residents like Dalessio are grateful.

“Just a huge debt of gratitude to these people who risked their lives,” he said.

A city spokesperson gave ABC 10News the following statement:

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The city has addressed unsafe encampments in this area and will continue to work with residents and private property owners to do so. The city removes the camps from the public right-of-way, but a significant portion of the property in this area is privately owned. The city cannot enter private property to remove waste or encampments. Code officers have been and will continue to communicate with property owners to address concerns and, if necessary, issue citations to ensure compliance.

This is a regular patrol and enforcement area of ​​the Neighborhood Policing Division (NPD) of the San Diego Police Department. NPD works closely with the City’s Department of Environmental Services to respond to reports, provide services available to individuals, and remove trash/waste through cuts on City property.

Property owners may request a Agency Letter (sandiego.gov) (Trespass Arrest Authorization) to allow SDPD to enforce trespassing on private property without the owner’s consent or lawful purpose.