Fleeing a home, leaving a cat

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J.R. Wolfstein, 37, worried all night about his missing cat. He had only been able to round up two of his three cats before he, his father, Dr. Ralph Wolfstein, and his mother, Norma, evacuated the home on Cromwell Avenue where they have lived since 1970. The 1924 Spanish-style home by architect Wallace Neff had filled with smoke that rolled like dry ice over the ridge behind it.

Finding the cat was the only thing Wolfstein wasn’t able to do. Area hotels were already booked, so in just 20 minutes he managed to borrow a friend’s 36-foot Winnebago and stop by an AutoZone and a RadioShack store to equip it with a battery-operated TV set, a charger and other emergency supplies.

He and his parents spent the night parked outside ABC Studios watching the fire on the television.

When they returned to their home this morning, the power was still out and everything, including the pool, was coated with a quarter-inch of ash. But the cat was on the doorstep waiting for breakfast.

-Mary Engel