On Wednesday, October 24, 2007, some of the evacuation orders in place for Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Peñasquitos, 4S Ranch, and other areas west of Rancho Bernardo were lifted, after the western part of the Witch Creek Fire had been extinguished. However, the evacuation orders in place for eastern and northern Rancho Bernardo, around Lake Hodges, were still in place. On October 25, more of the evacuation orders for the Witch Fire around Rancho Bernardo were lifted, as the Witch Creek Fire became 45% contained. Late on October 24, after the winds had reversed, the Witch Fire began approaching the nearby Poomacha Fire to the north, which was burning near Palomar Mountain, with firefighters and officials fearing that the two wildfires would soon merge. On October 25, the Witch Fire and the Poomacha Fire merged into one gigantic complex fire, with the two wildfires joining to the south of Palomar Mountain. On October 26, the Witch Fire also merged with the contained McCoy Fire, which had previously burned 400 acres in the Pine Hills area, in eastern San Diego County.