A fast-moving brush fire chewed through canyons of thick brush and palm trees in San Diego’s College Area and Talmadge neighborhoods Thursday afternoon, damaging homes and prompting widespread evacuations.

The fire was reported about 1:40 p.m. and burned on both sides of Montezuma Road, just east of Fairmount Avenue, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Flames raced down canyons and up ridges toward homes behind Lucille Drive in Talmadge and Alvarado Estates in the College Area, growing to around 40 acres by Thursday evening before crews got the upper hand.

Crews had about 25% of the fire contained by early evening, and six homes were damaged, Fire-Rescue officials said on X. They said Montezuma Road would remain closed through the night to give access to fire equipment and crews will remain on scene to watch for hot spots. No injuries had been reported as of Thursday evening, said Jose Ysea, spokesperson for the city’s Office of Emergency Services.

Flames rise from burning palm trees along Montezuma Road. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Ysea said he saw several homes that had sustained relatively minor damage — burned fences, broken windows — including one where the deck had been heavily damaged “but they were able to save the house.”

Mónica Muñoz, a fire department spokesperson, said multiple decks were damaged and the fire may have reached into the attic of one home.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

San Diego police officers went door to door telling residents to leave in an evacuation zone that spanned Talmadge, the College Area, Normal Heights and Kensington. The boundaries encompassed a populated swath — south of Interstate 8, west of Hewlett Drive and Collwood Boulevard, north of Monroe Avenue and east of Interstate 805.

Most of the evacuation orders were lifted by early Thursday evening, save for a portion of Talmadge essentially east of Fairmount Avenue stretching roughly to Collwood Boulevard, and from I-8 south to Adams Avenue. And those allowed to return home were warned that power could be out.

The Allied Gardens Recreation Center, at 5155 Greenbrier Ave., was set up as a temporary evacuation and reunification center. As of early Thursday evening, a few dozen people were at the site, Ysea said.

The San Diego Humane Society said people and their pets could get food and water at the site. It tweeted a photo of a woman in a Buzz Lightyear costume with a few leashed dogs — two of them wearing hotdog costumes.

San Diego Police department is currently working a large and growing fire in the College area

The areas in pink on the map above have orders to evacuate at this time-

evacuation point

Allied Gardens Rec center (5155 Greenbrier Ave, SD, 92120) pic.twitter.com/fgqOkmFxv0

— San Diego Police Department (@SanDiegoPD) October 31, 2024

Hardy Elementary School, near Montezuma and Remington roads, was also evacuated, with students and staff sent to San Diego State University’s Viejas Arena, fire officials said.

A firefighter runs a water line to battle a blaze near San Diego State University on Thursday. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The fire snarled traffic on surface streets as major thoroughfares were closed.

Police said several other roads in the area — including Collwood Boulevard, between Monroe Avenue and Montezuma, Fairmont Avenue from Interstate 8 to Aldine Drive and Camino Del Rio south of Fairmont — would be closed until at least midnight. The Fairmount exit at I-8 also caused for delays on the freeway.

Crews from multiple agencies participated in the firefight, including air assets that dropped water and fire retardant on the flames, fire officials said.

Muñoz said Thursday’s blaze marked the first time in nearly 10 years that retardant was used to fight a city fire.

“We’re super happy with the response and our ability to grab it,” Muñoz said.

Dressed in Halloween costumes, Dominic Minutelli, left, Eric Anzures and Joel Sanchez walk down Montezuma Road. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The fire and evacuations on Halloween kept trick-or-treaters off the streets — and that meant a lot of extra candy in homes up and down the cleared-out blocks. Ysea said he spied residents instead approaching firefighters to hand out candy.

In the Talmadge area, fire Capt. David Bartoletti and his crew hosed down flames that had sped up the canyon and charred people’s backyards.

“It’s really important to create that defensible space,” Bartoletti said as he pointed to the burned brush that had overgrown in one of the backyards.

Next door along Lorraine Drive, homeowners Blanchard Roberson and his husband David Noel watched as the flames missed their home. From their single-family house, firefighters helped extinguish hot spots creeping toward their neighbors’ homes.

“That’s the fear of living in the canyons, but we try to keep clearance and that’s what helped today,” said Roberson. “We were 50 miles away from home, but we’re thankful to our neighbors. They notified us and we came back.”

Nearby was UC San Diego student Aiden Molter, who rushed from campus to his house. His father was home when evacuations started.

“He said he grabbed a backpack and helped the neighbor’s dogs before leaving,” said Molter. “I just came to the house to see if there was anything I could pack. The house is fine.”

Flames rise from burning brush along Montezuma Road. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Tashayla Paige, one of many parents who went to Viejas to pick up their children after being evacuated from Hardy Elementary, broke down when she didn’t immediately find her 6-year-old daughter on the field. Her daughter had gone with a teacher to get a drink of water.

“It was pretty intense but I’m glad we’re together now,” Paige said as she embraced her daughter. The mother said she did not get a direct alert about the evacuations but learned about it upon arriving at the school for normal pickup.

Nearby was Ayako Do, who was picking up her son and a few of his friends from Hardy.

“I was freaked out because (the fire) seemed so close,” said Do, as the children in costume huddled near her. They said they had just completed a fire drill a few weeks ago.

About an hour earlier to the south, a blaze broke out near Quarry and Sweetwater roads in the La Presa area, at the western end of Sweetwater Reservoir. The blaze initially threatened an apartment complex, and residents were ordered to evacuate, said San Miguel Fire Chief Andy Lawler.

Helicopters make several water drops on a field fire near Quarry Road on Thursday. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

The evacuation order for the complex and homes south of Jamacha Boulevard was soon downgraded to a warning as crews gained control and was eventually lifted, according to county officials. The blaze charred about 12 acres.

Staff writer Teri Figueroa contributed to this story.