Girl Burned in Campo Blaze Dies; Sister Remains Critical

A 7-year-old girl died early Tuesday of burns she suffered when a propane-fed fire engulfed her Campo home Monday afternoon.

Virginia Donnelly, who received third-degree burns on 94% of her body, died at 3:15 a.m. in the burn unit at UC San Diego Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The girl’s mother and two sisters were also injured in the explosion and blaze that destroyed the single-story home they rented on California 94 in a rural section of Campo.

Jessica Faulkner, 10, was listed in critical condition with second-degree burns over 33% of her body. The third sister, 3-year-old Janelle Nordine, and the girls’ mother, 30-year-old Kim Wilks, were released from the center Tuesday after spending the night there for treatment of burns and smoke inhalation.

Investigators Tuesday traced the cause of the fire to a leak in a line bringing propane gas from outdoor tanks to the kitchen stove, said Detective Paul Bledsoe of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department arson detail.

Bledsoe said Virginia may have touched off the fire and an apparent explosion that preceded it when she plugged an electrical appliance into a wall socket, causing a small spark that ignited propane vapors that had accumulated in the wall. Virginia was alone in her bedroom at the time, he said.

“The propane line went into an outside wall and then from this bedroom area into and around the walls, and into the kitchen area,” Bledsoe said. Wilks told Bledsoe that she did not smell the propane leak, he said.

Wilks, who was home at the time, dragged Virginia out of the bedroom and helped the two other children escape, Bledsoe said.

Firefighters arriving at the home shortly after 4:30 Monday afternoon found it in flames. The home was destroyed, and investigators estimated the damage at $50,000, according to Sgt. Conrad Grayson, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department.