SAN DIEGO – Firefighters on Wednesday afternoon stopped the forward spread of a 30-acre brush fire that broke out along Interstate 8 in the Lakeside area.

The fire broke out at about 3:30 p.m. west of Los Coches Road. The eastward-spreading flames moved up grassy slopes to within a few hundred feet of houses along Carob Tree and Lotus lanes as crews battled the blaze by ground and aboard firefighting aircraft, said Thomas Shoots, a fire captain with the state agency.

The blaze, dubbed the Coches Fire, was considered out as of about 9:30 p.m., according to Cal Fire, but fire resources were expected to remain in the area through the rest of the evening.

David Burton, who owns lives in the area, said the defensible space around his home potentially kept it from going up in flames.

“It would’ve caught this tree on fire and the next tree and then the house,” Burton told FOX 5.

He says nearly two dozen fires have threatened his home, but thanks to firefighters and solid fire defense, it’s still standing.

“Whenever there’s fire, you have to be scared and your heart’s racing,” Burton said. “But it’s really nice when you get home and you’re driving up and everything’s on fire and you’ve got 15 fire trucks there.”

Deputies advised residents in nearby homes to clear out as a precaution, sheriff’s Lt. Mark Moreno said. Ultimately, no structures were damaged or destroyed by the fire.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.