Escondido
An 81-year-old woman died in a fire that destroyed a small house in Questhaven, a rural area near Escondido, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Tuesday.
A deputy coroner identified the woman as Ruth Koster of the 21000 block of Questhaven Road.
Carlsbad and San Marcos firefighters found the one-story home engulfed in flames when they arrived about 11:30 p.m. Monday. Koster’s burned body was found about 30 feet from the residence, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Conrad Grayson said.
Grayson said Koster’s clothing somehow ignited, and she fled the house in panic.
The structure was described by Grayson as tiny and heavily loaded with combustibles such as books and paper. Damage to the structure, which burned to the ground, and to a car was estimated at $18,000, Grayson said.
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