The Witch Creek Fire was the largest of the October 2007 wildfires and surpassed the 1970 Laguna Fire as the 2nd largest fire in California history. Hundreds of thousands of residents were informed of evacuations through the Reverse 911 system. The fire started in Witch Creek Canyon near Santa Ysabel and quickly spread to San Diego Country Estates, Ramona, Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Escondido. Locals in the San Pasqual Valley area reported wind gusts of over 100 mph. From there the fire jumped over Interstate 15 and continued west, causing significant damage in Lake Hodges, Del Dios and Rancho Santa Fe. Strong Santa Ana winds pushed the fires west towards the coast. While many coastal communities were evacuated as the fire moved west, the shifting winds prevented it from directly threatening those areas. The Witch Creek Fire, burned 80,124 hectares and destroyed 1125 residential structures.