Lemon Grove

A fire that broke out at 6 a.m. Thursday in a room of the Country Hills Residential and Intermediate Care Center in Lemon Grove was caused by a woman who was smoking in bed, said Glen Larson, administrator and owner of the facility, in the 2000 block of Skyline Drive.

The woman, Lois Mortensen, was in critical condition Thursday in the burn center of UC San Diego Medical Center, with second- and third-degree burns over 26% of her body, said a hospital spokeswoman.

Nine other residents of the home who were hospitalized for smoke inhalation were expected to return to the facility Thursday, Larson said.

It took firefighters 11 minutes to put out the fire, which caused mostly smoke damage estimated at $25,000, fire officials said.

The facility houses about 215 residents who are ambulatory, but need intermediate nursing care, Larson said. No patients will have to be displaced because of the fire. The 5-acre facility also has a center that houses 100 independent senior citizens.

“I’m just grateful that no more damage or harm was done. . . . It could have been much worse,” Larson said.