Five years after the Witch Creek fire destroyed about 360 homes in Rancho Bernardo, neighbors on Aguacate Way have shared their feelings of luck and rebirth, according to a report in U-T San Diego.
“How did my house not burn down?” Jacey Humes was quoted as saying.
The paper says two neighbors ignored orders to evacuate and hosed the Humes house until firefighters arrived.
“Except for one house down the street stalled in its reconstruction, surrounded by a chain-link fence and still unoccupied, the neighborhood seems back to normal, if a little hodgepodge in appearance,” said the report by award-winning U-T features writer John Wilkens.
Wilkens quoted Dudley Johnson, a retired Navy chaplain who rebuilt his home: “It was a good life experience. You learn that everything is temporary. There is nothing in this reality we live in that is permanent.”
According to the Pomerado News, all but about 20 homes destroyed in Rancho Bernardo have been rebuilt and 55 of the 90 homes lost in Poway have been rebuilt or are in the rebuilding process.
The online site quoted Valerie Brown, RB United coordinator, as saying many yet-to-rebuild homeowners were underinsured and some are still in litigation with SDG&E.
“The Witch Creek fire started at 12:35 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007, near Santa Ysabel,” the Pomerado News summarized. “It burned 197,990 acres, largely due to strong Santa Ana winds exceeding 100 miles per hour quickly moving flames across the rural area and into the urban communities. Fire officials said flames were often 80 to 100 feet high.”
What are your thoughts on the fifth anniversary of the fire? Are your life and home back to normal? Share in the comments.
