UC San Diego will set part of a 10-story building in Scripps Ranch on fire at 10 a.m. Thursday to help researchers find better ways to make such structures more fire resistant.
The university said the fire, which will occur on the ninth floor, is likely to produce smoke that will be visible along Interstates 15 and 805.
The experiment had been scheduled to occur on Wednesday but was postponed when UCSD learned that a San Diego Fire Department unit wouldn’t be available for safety purposes.
At the time of the experiment, there will be very light winds out of the west, the temperature will be about 70 degrees and the humidity will be roughly 80 percent, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters say that the monsoonal moisture that will creep into the county Thursday won’t produce lightning in Scripps Ranch.
Firefighters are keeping an especially close eye on communities like Scripps Ranch, which has received only about half of its seasonal rainfall.
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