One hundred and seventy-five homes in Valley Center were destroyed during the Paradise fire, according to the most recent figures released by the VC fire department.
Firefighters saved 783 houses that were in the path of the devastating blaze.
Joy Justis, VC fire marshal, told The Roadrunner that the list was about 95% complete. (See the end of this article for the list of homes).
In addition to the homes mentioned above, 192 structures, which could include sheds, detached garages, etc., burned. The number of vehicles, travel trailers, tractors and boats that were destroyed was listed as 406.
Damages to this ares from the Paradise fire are currently estimated to be nearly $43 million.
On Tuesday the County opened a center on Valley Center Road, at the County Road Dept. yards, to help VC fire victims contact federal agencies such as FEMA and the Small Business Administration.
The Valley Center Local Assistance Center (LAC) is located at 28565 Cole Grade Road.
It offers assistance from federal, state and local agencies, including San diego County building officials, mental health professionals, County Health and Human Services, American Red Cross, California Office of Emergency Services, Small Business Administration, FEMA, Property Tax Reduction Information, utilities and various volunteer services.
By the beginning of this week, the fires that had savaged this community were out, and residents had returned to their homes, except for the area of the La Jolla Indian Reservation. There firefighters battled smoldering fires in 30 foot high brush that has not burned in a century.
Firefighters dealing with this final threat were actually hindered by wet weather, which has prevented them from lighting backfires to box in the fire.
Smelling Like a Rose
Although there has been much finger pointing during and after the fires passed, Jeff Terpstra, liaison for CDF’s Incident Command Team No. 1, said he welcomed an investigation of how the mutual aid process worked.
“I think we will come up smelling like a rose,” he told the VC water board Monday, when he gave them an update on the fire.
He addressed the issue of whether airplanes early on would have been made a difference.
“Air craft will not have been effective here,” he said. “Ten fires burning with the ferociousness that they were burning were not catchable.” He repeated what many firefighters have repeated over the last week, that firefighters can never get a handle on a wildland blaze until Santa Ana winds die down.
Day One
In the first two days there were 600 firefighters available to battle the Paradise fire, and the incident commander was requesting 2,000.
By the end of the week 7,000 firefighters, half of them from the California Dept. of Corrections, were fighting the fire.
The fire crews were forced to evacuate residents for two days ahead of the fire and keep people out of the burned areas.
Most of the homes that were lost were lost in that first day, and most were burned before fire crews arrived.
“Normally people whose houses burned through should be able to get back after thirty-six hours. In this case it was seventy-two hours,” said Terpstra.
But at the same time utilities crews were working in the burned out areas so that when people returned to their homes, in many cases, power, telephone and water had been restored.
Once fire burns through an area, there’s no more fuel, and the area becomes safe, he said.
“I applaud your field crews that restored the utilities,” he said.
The fire burned 13,000 acres that first day.
Day Two
On Monday it continued to burn towards Escondido and Daley Ranch. Then the wind changed and began coming from the ocean.
Normally that doesn’t move a whole lot of fire,” said Terpstra, “but when you have a seven mile fire line, it’s logical that it would be moved by the wind.”
Day Three
On Tuesday two and half times as much acreage was lost as on the first day as the fire moved rapidly through the Paradise Mountain area.
“Some of the flora there had not burned in 90 years,” he said. “We have found that these are beautiful places to put your homes, but unfortunately it burns easily.”
Day Four
The fire continued to burn without perimeter control for four days, which is also highly unusual,” he said.
“They were not controlling the perimeter at all, just ‘bumping’ the fires, i.e. directing the fires away from structures,” he said.
“I have never had a fire where we are not controlling the perimeter after the first day,” said Terpstra. “That is not something we are proud of but it was a necessity. That point caused a lot of anxiety. People wanted to know what they couldn’t go back to their homes, and the reason is because we were cleaning up the fires.”
Current Situation
Wet weather has stalled the fire on the La Jolla Indian reservation, on the ridge facing north.It stopped the fire in mid-slope, the worst place it could have stopped, said Terpstra.
“Now have what is 30 feet of brush that hasn’t burned for 100 years.”
The rain is hitting the tops of 30 feet of brush, “where you couldn’t throw a nickel,” according to Terpstra. “We want to make backfires, but it won’t burn.”
Firefighters, dropped in by helicopter will continue cut out safety zones with picks and shovels since tractors can’t make it into the thick brush.
They expect to have the aid of drying conditions later this week, although no one knows for sure.
In summing up the state’s efforts in this region, Terpstra said. “We sent to this region 7,000 firefighters.
“No other state and no other nation can move fire resources like we can. But when the winds are blowing, nature rules and all we can do is channel it away from our homes.”
Although the media in the main focused on the larger Cedars fire, Terpstra opined that “We feel that we were pretty scrappy and once we caught up with the fire, few structures burned.”
Water District Efforts
At some risk to themselves, field crews of the water district did what they could to protect district reservoirs that were in the burned areas, particularly the Paradise Mountain area, where flames approached several reservoirs.
They were told to work as long as they could but when the fire approached the fence they were to leave, to not be heroes, Gen. Mgr. Gary Arant commented.
The Paradise mountain pump station was at one time surrounded.
According to Arant, “I happened to be out there on early Sunday and Monday, and I would have to say that while our people performed safely they performed outstandingly.”
Several customers have already approached the water district to have their water meters turned off.
Dale Gertzen the water district’s code enforcement assistant safety officer, is working with CDF and the fire district to plan for the flooding the landslides that will almost certainly follow such a widespread burn as soon as rains arrive.
The water board Monday approved over $100,000 in expenditures that Arant said is necessary to make the district less vulnerable to future fires.
This will include removing screening trees from reservoirs to make them less susceptible to moving flames, and buying two generators to operate pump stations that have lost power.
“Given how long it took us to locate generators this time, we need to have them on hand,” said Arant.
More Individual Stories
We have collected several more personal fire stories from VC residents.
Skyline Ranch Country Club
Stan Johnson, general manager of Skyline Ranch, describes how at 2 a.m. on Sunday, he received his first call from a park resident who had seen the fire at Rincon Casino.
A few minutes later he received another call from a resident who said that major flames were coming up from the reservation.
“From that time on I kept an eye on the fire from the Valley View parking lot,” said Johnson.
Around daybreak he saw a huge wall of smoke moving west, driven by the wind.
A Sheriff’s deputy arrived at Skyline and advised Johnson that the residents should be prepared to leave.
Johnson went through the park with the megaphone warning residents to be prepared to evacuate.
Then a paramedic van and a fire engine arrived to tell them that both Canal and Paradise Mountain roads were closed.
Johnson was told to get all the residents onto the fairway of the golf course.
“We were told that would probably be the safest place, but we were also told that there might be a loss of life and major injuries but that some people would survive,” recalls Johnson.
About 125 gathered on the green. Johnson broke out bottles of water, sodas and chips to keep everyone relaxed while they waited in chairs and golf carts.
But then the winds shifted, “and with the gallant efforts by the fire department and aerial bombers, Skyline Ranch made it through this fire storm unscathed.
Shortly thereafter deputies ordered the park evacuated, and escorted them on Canal Road.
They were allowed back in on Wednesday and electricity was restored that night. Skyline still has no phones or cable at this writing.
Art and Joan Weller
This longtime VC couple lost their home on Sunday, after being forced to flee with almost no notice.
On Sunday, about 8:30 a.m., the Wellers were eating breakfast at their home on Via Viso, near Valley View Casino, where they had lived for 26 years.
“We were eating breakfast and we thought we were safe because the fire had gone from Rincon to yellow brick road,” says Art. “I was sitting there in my pajamas. We smelled smoke but we thought it was from the other fire. then we saw a little more smoke.”
Suddenly two firemen banged on the door, and yelled to them, “Get out. Now!”
They quickly jumped into some clothes, got the dog, and drove out through the fire storm.
“You can’t imagine what it was like. It was black as night. The smoke was full of flying embers. I saw some of my trees explode. We drove out our driveway and into Via Viso, and we were safe.”
They came out with the clothes on their back.
“We’ve been overwhelmed with offers of help and shelter. We’re very grateful, but we can’t use it all. It just shows the spirit of the people in Valley Center,” said Weller.
The Finns
Dan & Cindy Lachance Finn, a resident of Dorothy Lane, off Yellow Brick Road, on the ridge overlooking Rincon Reservation, went through a similar experience in Oct. 22, 1996. The Roadrunner chronicled their experience in a story called “The dark angel of fire passes over a family - leaving it unharmed.”
“We are two for two as far as wild fire goes,” says Mr.s Finn,” though it feels very unfair to have to go through something like that more than once in a lifetime.
“We had only a 20 minutes warning this time and were able to gather only a few files before the fire was upon us and we fled in terror. We were wakened by our neighbor, Greg Phillips, who called at 1:48 a.m. to let us know a fire was directly behind us and coming up the canyon very fast. We also received other calls from frantic neighbors,some who even came up the drive to warn us. We wanted to believe it wasn’t happening again. It seemed we had just stopped vacuuming soot from the window sills when the east wind blew, and our quail had just come back in coveys.
“We literally peeled out of our drive way with the fireball at the house as embers the size of my hand fell around us. The wind was so strong we couldn’t see. We stopped on Mac Tan,thinking we could wait it out there, but by the time we had gotten to Camp Caroline ,the fire had already jumped the road. We drove out of danger ,disoriented and sobbing. after driving around looking for any safe haven, we alighted at the bank parking lot and watched as the hills emptied with cars,trucks and people and animals evacuating . It reminded me on an ant hill being upset...
“If it were not for Greg Phillips and his selfless bravery, our home would be one of the casualties in the San Diego fire storm. Greg stayed behind because he couldn’t find his wife Maureen and feared leaving without her. He didn't know she had been picked up by a friend of the family’s and taken to safety. Greg was there when the fire swept through our beloved canyon. After it passed ,he saw our home on fire and went down to put it out. It was burning in two places. I know if he hadn’t been there or gone down the hill , we would be one of the families sifting through the rubble of our home.My message I guess is, know and embrace your neighbors-even if we are acres apart.”
Latest Damage Figures
The following addresses have been identified as sustaining damage or destruction:
Sunset Rd. 28672;
Valley Center Rd. 31478, 31341, 31339, and 31515;
Lake Wohlford Ct. 24875;
N. Lake Wohlford 16891, 16855, 25900A, 25900B, 25900C, 27711, 27653, 16650, 27808, 27823, 27910, 27911, 28024, 28037, 28065, 28115, 28141, 28227, 28229, 28231, 28235, 28092 1/2, 28622, 26411, 26570, 26650, 26640, 26655, 26803, Armstrong (no number);
Lake Wohlford Rd. 25125, 25280, 25462, 25472, 25476, 25478, 25482, 25484, 25486, 25488, 25630, 27425, 27419;
Lake Wohlford Ln.
16770, 27807, 27745;
Station Rd. 31375, 31393, 31367;
Ahern Ranch Rd. 28151, 28147;
Yellow Brick Rd. 29175, 29242, 29241, 29403, 29439, 29493, 29547, 29550, 30027A, 30029, 30072;
Rim of the Valley 15524, 15595, 15630;
Pauma Heights 31130, 31655;
Lazy H Dr. 15969;
Angela Ct. 16092;
Emerald 16062, 16048;
Dorothy Ln. 16901;
Wizard Ln. 16094 ;
Via Visa 28067, 28000, 28005, 28029, 28058;
Canal Rd. 16626, 27672, 16658, 16630;
Santee Rd. 19700, 19754 ;
Hell Creek Rd. 27863, 28243, 28355, 28367;
Mac Tan Ln. 15847, 29425;
Hell Hole Area No address;
Woods Valley Rd. 15147, 15511;
Guejito Rd. 16850, 16927, 16950, 16975, 16992;
Old Guejito Grade Rd. 16610, 16650;
Kiavo Rd. 26607, 28607, 28709;
Englemann Lot 10, Lot 13,
Lot 15;
Ridge Oak Pl. Lot 9;
Ridge Ranch Rd. 14277;
Paradise Mtn. Rd. 18661, 18741, 18678A, 16764, 16762, 4217A, 28951, 28965, 18153, 19031, 19584;
Defridge Rd. 18851;
Possum Pass 18891;
Calle de Encinas Ct. 27637;
Oak Trail Rd. 26502;
Sierra Verde 19340, 19424;
Sierra Grande 15475, 15635;
Little Sierra Grande Rd. 15635;
Villa Sierra Rd. 15704;
Oakvale Rd. 15391, 15389;
Bear Valley Ln. 16580, 17773, 17825, 17180, 18181;
Crown Hill Ln. 24120, 23908, 23601;
Severino 158868, 15914, 15952.
Friends and family of Ashleigh Roach, a 16 year old junior at VC High School who died in the early stages of the Paradise fire, mourned her passing and celebrated her life this week.
A public funeral was held for her Thursday at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
She enjoyed a long term friendship with Valley Center firefighters, whose station was a short distance from her home. She often shared holiday dinners and family events with them.
In honor of that friendship, her body was carried to and from the center on a fire engine staffed by firefighters of Station 72 and Station 73 of the California Dept. of Forestry assigned to VC.
Ashleigh was killed the morning of Oct. 26, while attempting to escape the fire. Her older sister, Allyson, was severely burned and remains in critical condition at the UCSD Burn Center. Her older brother, Jason, was less severely burned. Her parents, John & Lori Roach, escaped without physical injuries.
A memorial for Miss Roach will be held at the high school this Thursday (tomorrow) from 11-11:30 a.m.
* * *
Ashleigh Elizabeth Roach was born May 29, 1987 in Escondido. She was a student a VCHS.
Ashleigh had a passion for Irish dancing that equaled her love for playing piano and for being section leader of the pit in the Valley Center High School Band.
In her world there were never enough kittens, nor enough music. She saw the best in all of us. Her smile and twinkling eyes will be greatly missed.
Survivors include her mother, Lori Roach and father, John Roach, both of VC; grandparents, Ina Cunningham of Hemet and Sandra Swanson of Everett, Washington; great-grandmother, Viola Hanson, also of Everett; brother, Jason Roach, and sister, Allyson Roach, both of VC; aunts and uncles, Bud & Kathy Christensen of Menifee Valley, Jack & Betty Souter of Hemet, Steve & Erin Meissner of Bothell, Washington, Patrick & Kathleen Roach of Redmond, Washington, Terry & Barbara Hanson of Bellingham, Washington; cousins Steven & Kristen Christensen of Menifee, Marty & Kristi Christensen of Menifee, Greg & Jon Meissner of Bothell, Julianne & Kaitlin Roach of Redmond, Kelly, Paula and Preston Christensen of Menifee Valley; numerous friends and loved ones in VC, including her friends and heroes from Station 73 and Station 72 and her friends of the San Diego Irish community.
Private interment was at VC Cemetery, with Pastor Jim Rauch officiating.
Alhiser-Comer Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
By DAVID ROSS
Please see related stores this page.
About 750 people overflowed the middle school gym Saturday to hear state and federal elected officials and to meet with relief agencies such as FEMA and the Small Business Administration.
It was an emotional outpouring for some, and for others a chance to applaud the firefighters who saved, or tried to save, their homes.
“The spirit of this community is unbelievable. Our firefighters circled the wagons and protected neighborhood after neighborhood,” Congressman Darrell Issa told the crowd.
With Issa was Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who represents small parts of VC. Also attending was Fifth District Supervisor Bill Horn and Senator Dennis Hollingsworth. Assemblyman Ray Haynes sent staff.
The most important news to come out of the meeting was the announcement that Buddha’s Light, a North County organization, had donated $30,000 for VC fire victims.
This money will be distributed through the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, through the VC Chamber office.
It was announced that the Valley Center Local Assistance Center (LAC) would be opened this week at 28565 Cole Grade Road.
This center will offer one-stop shopping for people needing assistance from variety of agencies.
That includes FEMA, (Federal Emergency Management Agency), which is ready to process your information if your property was damaged.
You don’t actually have to go to the center to contact FEMA. Just call -800-621-FEMA. They can also get you in the pipeline for aid from the Small Business Administration.
Despite its name, SBA can provide low interest loans to individuals, not just businesses, while FEMA can provide low interest loans and outright grants for those who qualify. Victims have 60 days from the fire (until Dec. 26), to apply for aid.
Household possessions for some people are also insured against loss up to $20,000.
Jeff Griffin of FEMA told the audience, “Our job now is recovery. It’s clear that your residents in this community came through to save this community.
People who visit LAC will also be able to learn about the County’s just adopted policy of not charging building fees for people wanting to rebuild.
VC Fire Chief Kevin O’Leary gave a blow by blow description of how the fire started in the early morning hours of Oct. 28.
He praised deputies who evacuated many residents and “put themselves in harm’s way without fire gear.”
He called the overwhelming fire, “an unbelievable situation. I’ve never seen anything like it in my 26 years in fire fighting.”
The cause of the fire was “human caused,” according to O’Leary, and “still under investigation.”
Whether or not the fire turns out to be arson will have no effect on whether homeowners and renters are eligible for FEMA assistance.
Unfortunately, said Issa in answer to a question from the audience, homeowners insurance rates in the areas hit by the fires will undoubtedly go up.
Bill Horn praised the firefighters for their heroic efforts, and noted that the County will be reseeding burned out areas as quickly as possible to fight erosion.
One man from the Hwy 76 area, where fires are still smoldering, tearfully asked why residents of that area were not being allowed in to defend their homes.
“We’re ready to defend our house and you won’t let us! If you have an Escalade they’ll let you in, but if you have a beat up truck, they won’t!” he said, a reference to the deputies efforts to keep potential looters out of burned out areas.
After fielding other questions from the audience, Issa invited people to visit the various help tables that were set up to guide people through the application process.
Wednesday night I took an eerie night visit to Palomar Mountain, where everyone, including me, had been evacuated the day before.
I actually wasn’t there for the mandatory evacuation. I just heard about it. I was evacuated in absentia.
I had gotten tired of not being able to get up-to-date information about the fire burning near Palomar Mountain. The TV and radio coverage has been almost exclusively about the fire threatening historic Julian. Folks seemed to have forgotten about the fire threatening historic Palomar Mountain.
Even at the CDF information booth at the Valley Center Community Center, it was hard to find specific information on whether the fire had jumped Hwy 76 to the eastern slopes of Palomar Mountain.
Since I had a “burning” curiosity about the fire and a press pass, I was able to bypass the CHP and Sheriff’s roadblocks to go in search of my story.
At each roadblock the officers looked at my press ID dubiously, but passed me through. If I wanted to kill myself in search of a story, I could do so.
The winding roads leading up from Pauma Valley were dark and lonely, lonelier than they are normally, even though it’s always dark along this stretch of highway.
I could smell the smoke in Pauma Valley, but as I climbed the grade in my Jeep the smoke receded and the stars that the Backcountry is famous for were unveiled, like burning ice in the night.
One more roadblock passed at the bottom of East Grade.
“You going up Highway 76?” asked the Highway Patrolman.
“No, up the mountain.”
“OK.”
I continued my ascent on the lonely, dark, winding roads. It was an strange feeling, and part of the trip my heart was in my throat.
About halfway up, 3,000 feet or so, I pulled the Jeep off the road onto the outlook that provides a view of much of North County, to the ocean.
To the east I could see perhaps three fires burning, each one separated from the others by several miles, or so it appeared.
At this distance they looked like distant campfires, hardly malevolent or destructive at all. Yet they had the potential, if the wind kicked up, to become avenging, ravening demons, violating everything, destroying lives and property with a primitive nonchalance.
Firefighters will tell you that fires have personalities. These glowing embers had the mien of predators that had fed well and were resting, perhaps gathering strength to kill or ravage again.
A little bit alarmed that the fires looked so close, I quickly got back into the car and continued up.
I was amazed, when I reached the summit, to see that it was not completely dark after all. It wasn’t fire and it wasn’t the moon.
The lights were on but no one was home.
Everyone had been evacuated, but apparently most people had left their lights turned on from the two days when the town was without electricity.
I felt like “The Last Man on Earth” in one of those sci fi films of the 1950’s about a lone survivor wandering through empty streets, with no sign of life, but no sign of damages either.
I decided since I was in the vicinity that I would check up on my house. When I drove down the gully I discovered that my lights also were on, although I was not home.
I went inside and opened the refrigerator, and pushed gently on a package in the freezer. It was still soft. So the electricity had only been on a short time. The smell of spoiling food confirmed that suspicion. I’d have some throwing away to do when I got back home for good.
I drove back down Crestline to the fire station and saw that there were cars parked there.
Palomar Mountain was not completely depopulated, it seemed.
I parked and went to the side door of the fire station, which was open, the light spilling out on the dark.
“Anybody home?”
There was a muffled answer and I went inside.
“Where are the firefighters?” I asked, seeing four people in sleeping bags on the cement floor of the fire station.
“You’re lookin’ at ‘em!” said a voice.
Two were sleeping. Two were blinking their eyes and looking at me.
“I just came to see how you were doing and to see if you have any news,” I said.
One of them turned on his back with his hands behind his head and explained that the chief was down visiting the fire lines. They had heard that the latest news was that the fire was expected to bypass the Mountain.
But winds being what they are, that was only a hope at that moment.
In the meantime these four folks, three men and a woman, were resting, a tiny force prepared to head into the lines, join their neighbors and defend their homes, saving them if they could, but not letting them burn without a scrap.
Volunteer firefighters, it seems to me, are what our colonial minutemen were in the days when the colonies were threatened by the Red Coats.
It’s a different “red coat” this time. But the action, and devotion is the same.
I felt a little catch in my throat. I felt it in my eyes too, darn it. I think it was the smoke.
Driving back down to Valley Center, I felt the same weird, eerie sensation that I had before.
About halfway down I slowly passed a large white van. A reporter, bathed in the white glare of kleig lights, was alone except for her cameraman. Surrounded by dark, with nothing in the background, she was reporting on the fire.
That was the extent of our media coverage at the moment. Except for me.
I drove back to the newspaper office.
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
Copyright © 2002, Palomar Community Newspapers, dba Valley Roadrunner. All rights reserved. This content may not be archived, retransmitted, saved in a database, or used for any commercial purpose without the express written permission of the Valley Roadrunner.