Poway couple defy Witch fire evacuation order

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Rita Rast, 60, and her husband, Bob, stayed in Poway last night, flames just several hundred yards away from the Grove, the gated community where they live.

Police were patrolling their neighborhood with bullhorns telling people to leave, but they defied the order, and instead stayed to guard their home of 17 years. This is nothing new for them, the couple stayed put during the devastating Cedar fire four years ago.

“I’m not going to be pushed from my home,” Rita Rast said. “But I’m not looking to die either.”

The couple spent the night with candles and a cellphone running out of power. This is the second time in less than a week that they have faced adversity: Rita flew to New Jersey on a red-eye Thursday to attend her brother’s funeral.

She said the minute she sees flames come up the back of her property, she’ll leave. Their two vehicles are packed with goods they managed to take out of their garage before the electricity went out.

The fire is burning intensely in High Canyon, just beyond their backyard, with smoke and flames all around.

-- Robert Lopez