Silk-printed photos grabbed for retreat from Rancho Santa Fe

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At noon, many residents of the horse-filled canyons of plush Rancho Santa Fe were completing frantic efforts to evacuate their homes and stables. Diane Doroski, 59, had made breakfast, believing her home would be fine. But 20 minutes after the quesadilla finished cooking, it was covered with ash. ‘That was with all the windows closed!’ she said.

At 10 a.m., authorities began to close nearby streets and Diane and her husband, Victor, began a rushed effort to gather their belongings into their two cars. Dozens of family photographs printed on silk, going back to her great-great-grandparents, were removed from their frames. An antique carousel was packed in the car trunk, along with her great-grandmother’s butter dish, wrapped in clothing. ‘All these things have little touches that can’t be found nowadays, plus it’s family. No one else would care about it,’ Diane said.

Left behind was a lithograph reproduction of a painting of George Washington with one of Diane’s ancestors in the background; the rest of her great-grandmother’s china, and an heirloom chest with three secret drawers. ‘Come on, Di,’ Victor hurried his wife on, before pulling out of the driveway shortly after noon.

-- Garrett Therolf