--- description: At least twelve separate fires raged through 20,000 acres of land in San Diego County, Calif. this week, leaving scorched hillsides where houses once stood. title: Haunting Photos of Aftermath of San Diego Wildfires image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt662fc27b3cce7cfa/69868ff9cd68480cab094b6f/h_513699371.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [natural disaster](/tag/natural-disaster/) ## natural disaster Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # San Diego Wildfires Leave Haunting, Burned-Out Landscapes by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 17, 2014 2:06 PM CUT  A longtime exposure shows smolderings remains of overnight fires on the hillsides of San Marcos, San Diego county, Calif., May 16, 2014. A longtime exposure shows smolderings remains of overnight fires on the hillsides of San Marcos, San Diego county, Calif., May 16, 2014.Stuart Palley—EPA by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 17, 2014 2:06 PM CUT  A longtime exposure shows smolderings remains of overnight fires on the hillsides of San Marcos, San Diego county, Calif., May 16, 2014. Stuart Palley—EPA  A longtime exposure shows smolderings remains of overnight fires on the hillsides of San Marcos, San Diego county, Calif., May 16, 2014. Stuart Palley—EPA  Smoldering trees obscure the sunset atop a hill in San Marcos, San Diego county, Calif., May 14, 2014. Stuart Palley—EPA  Smoke from the fires in San Marcos and Escondido lays down at dawn due to subsiding winds near Elfin Forest Road, San Diego county, Calif., May 16, 2014. Stuart Palley—EPA  A longtime exposure shows smolderings remains of overnight fires on the hillsides of San Marcos, San Diego county, Calif., May 16, 2014. Stuart Palley—EPA  Smoke from the fires in San Marcos and Escondido lays down at dawn due to subsiding winds near Elfin Forest Road, San Diego county, Calif., May 16, 2014. Stuart Palley—EPA  A burned out home near Washingtonia Drive after catching fire, San Marcos, San Diego county, Calif., May 16, 2014. Stuart Palley—EPA ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/103615/san-diego-wildfire-aftermath/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/103615/san-diego-wildfire-aftermath/"},"headline":"San Diego Wildfires Leave Haunting, Burned-Out Landscapes","datePublished":"2014-05-17T14:06:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:22.596Z","description":"At least twelve separate fires raged through 20,000 acres of land in San Diego County, Calif. this week, leaving scorched hillsides and piles of ashes where houses once stood. Most blazes were under control Saturday, with at least one man charged with arson for starting a fire","url":"https://time.com/103615/san-diego-wildfire-aftermath/","keywords":["natural disaster"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt662fc27b3cce7cfa/69868ff9cd68480cab094b6f/h_513699371.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt662fc27b3cce7cfa/69868ff9cd68480cab094b6f/h_513699371.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"California wild fires","caption":"California wild fires","creditText":"Stuart Palley—EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/natural-disaster/","name":"natural disaster"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/103615/san-diego-wildfire-aftermath/","name":"San Diego Wildfires Leave Haunting, Burned-Out Landscapes"}}]}] ```