The Lilac Fire was reported on December 7, 2017, at 11:15 am PST, as a small brush fire, just off Interstate 15. The fire was spotted near Old Highway 395 and Dulin Road, near the intersection between State Route 76 and Interstate 15, in Bonsall, San Diego County, California. Fanned by unusually powerful Santa Ana winds, with gusts reaching 66 mph (106 km/h), the wildfire quickly grew in size; within minutes, the wildfire grew to 50 acres. By 11:35 AM PST, the Lilac Fire had reached 500 acres (200 ha). The winds pushed the fire west towards Oceanside and Vista. During that afternoon, the Lilac Fire left nearly 20,000 San Diego Gas & Electric customers without power. The Lilac Fire expanded to 4,100 acres (1,659 ha) by the evening, with 0% containment. Around that time, there were concerns that the Lilac Fire could burn all the way to the Pacific Ocean, near Camp Pendleton.

On the day the fire was reported, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for San Diego County, due to the fire, stating, “The fire is very dangerous and spreading rapidly, but we’ll continue to attack it with all we’ve got. It's crucial residents stay ready and evacuate immediately if told to do so.”

Cal State San Marcos, Palomar College, and MiraCosta College canceled classes and closed for the rest of the week. Mandatory evacuations were issued for areas of Bonsall and Oceanside, California. Cal Fire reports that "the fire is growing at a dangerous rate of spread with structures threatened." Three people were injured, including two horse handlers who suffered burns and a deputy from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department who was injured while directing traffic. The fire burned the San Luis Rey Training Center, destroying eight barns and killing 46 horses.

On the morning of December 8, the fire remained at 4,100 acres (1,700 ha) and 0% containment, and 105 buildings had been destroyed. One more civilian and a firefighter were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation, and another firefighter was treated for a dislocated shoulder. Later that evening, a shift in the wind direction and an increase in humidity allowed firefighters to make progress on the fire, increasing containment of the fire to 15%. During the evening, the Santa Ana winds returned to the region. During the afternoon of December 9, a woman was arrested for looting a home in Bonsall, within the mandatory evacuation zone.

On December 10, the Lilac Fire's burn area remained at 4,100 acres (1,659 ha), with containment increasing to 75%. Assessments revealed that the fire had destroyed 151 buildings, while damaging 56 others. Despite strong Santa Ana winds picking up again across Southern California and near the Lilac Fire, the winds failed to materialize around the Lilac Fire's burn area, which allowed firefighters to make significant progress on containing the fire. Firefighters strengthened containment lines with the help of good weather. Due to the increase in fire containment, and the waning Santa Ana winds, all evacuation orders and road closures for the Lilac Fire were lifted at about 4:00 PM PST on December 10. On December 11, the Lilac Fire was 90% contained, with no further increases in size.

On December 14, containment of the Lilac Fire had increased to 98%. Durin…

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