Fire Guts Home, Burns Gifts, Turns Out a Family : Oxnard: Six adults and eight children escape the blaze, which started near a Yule tree. Firefighters replace a charred turkey.

A fire that began near a Christmas tree gutted the home of an elderly Oxnard woman on Friday, charring dozens of gifts intended for her children and grandchildren.

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Flames also destroyed a turkey, a roast and several pies that Ivery Bryant, 73, had baked for a holiday feast on Sunday. For 25 years, Bryant’s home in the 1300 block of South E Street has served as the gathering place for a large network of relatives and friends.

“It’s a sad occasion, but we’re blessed because we’re living,” Bryant said Friday as she watched firefighters begin to mop up after the blaze.

Bryant said she was watching television shortly before noon when one of her grandchildren ran into the room and told her about the fire. “Everybody said get out of the house as fast as you can,” she said.

Bryant, five other adults and eight children all escaped unharmed. Bryant said a man broke a window in the back of the house and helped two children escape.

When the first firefighters arrived minutes later, flames were visible and black smoke was billowing from the house.

“It went up so fast they weren’t able to do anything,” said Bryant, who was clad in a housedress as she sat in a pickup truck across the street.

Oxnard Fire Battalion Chief Haywood Merricks said the fire began in an addition to the back of the house, close to a Christmas tree.

It is possible, Merricks said, that a spark ignited the cut tree. Other causes under investigation include cigarette smoking and an electrical short.

“The Christmas tree was totally destroyed,” he said. “If there are any gifts there, they’re certainly history.”

Flames also gutted the middle portion of the house, while other areas were heavily damaged by smoke and water. The fire spread to the attic, sweeping the entire length of the single-story structure.

Investigators estimated damage to the structure and property inside at about $180,000.

Eleven people lived at the home, including two renters. Bryant said other family members, including two of her children who live in Portland, Ore., were staying there for the weekend.

Up to 100 relatives and friends were expected to drop by the residence Sunday to open gifts and eat dinner. Many relatives--including 11 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren--had already brought their presents to the home this week, placing them around one of the two Christmas trees.

“That’s all we had,” Bryant said.

Bryant’s daughter, Jesie, said her family probably will spend Christmas at the home of another relative in Oxnard.

To assist the family, the Fire Department donated a turkey and some presents Friday evening. Police officers were also taking up a collection to make a donation, and a private grammar school in Oxnard donated $67 children raised singing Christmas carols this month.

A Neighborhood Watch program also is collecting donations and gifts for the family, according to the American Red Cross. For information, call Doug Gil at 483-3010.