San Diego County Fire Destroys 14 Homes

A fast-moving brush fire pushed by gusty, dry Santa Ana winds destroyed at least 14 pricey homes in this rural community in northern San Diego County on Sunday and forced hundreds of residents to flee.

“It was terrifying. The fire was just a quarter-mile away, and the wind was blowing so hard,” said Melissa Copeland, whose house was threatened. “We had three minutes to get our stuff and get out. We grabbed the kids and the family pictures. Everything else can be replaced.”

The origin of the fire was unknown. It began about 11 a.m. in the De Luz Canyon area east of this community of horse ranches and avocado groves.

“First came the smoke and then the flames down the canyon that chased us out,” said Gaynor Bean, 85, whose home was destroyed. “All I got out with is my wallet. Sometimes life isn’t very good.”

Fed by tall, dry brush and whipped by high winds, the crackling flames leaped from hill to hill, sparing some homes, destroying others.

Six people jumped into a backyard swimming pool and dived beneath the water while the fire raged above them. They were taken to a hospital suffering smoke inhalation and hypothermia because of the cold water.

Residents in hundreds of homes were ordered to evacuate by sheriff’s deputies using bullhorns. Many fled just ahead of the flames, taking their horses and other livestock and pets. Among the rescued animals were two prized llamas.

“The fire made a roaring sound,” said Ron Cullins, whose house was saved by firefighters. “I could hear explosions everywhere. The heat was unbearable.”

The Fallbrook Hospital emergency room treated at least 11 people for minor injuries. Two admitted for overnight observation were listed in stable condition.

By nightfall, officials estimated that more than 2,000 acres had been burned, making it bigger than Orange County’s two-day brush fire near Anaheim Hills. The San Diego fire was listed as only 5% contained, and officials hoped that cooler night temperatures would help slow it.

Some residents forced to evacuate were unsure whether their homes had survived.

“We know the avocado trees across the street were on fire,” said a distraught Gloria Avila.

The fire burned brush on the edge of the Fallbrook Naval Weapons Station, forcing evacuation of officer housing units although none of the units were burned. Nine of 10 fire stations at Camp Pendleton were mobilized to keep the fire from the sprawling base.

The high winds also caused two big rigs to tip over in San Bernardino.

San Diego County fire officials and residents said the fire there, dubbed the Gavilan Fire because it started on Gavilan Mountain Road, seemed to race from hilltop to hilltop. Much of the region has not had a “burn off” in 50 years and brush is up to 20 feet tall, officials said.

In some cases, homes where owners had taken precautions--putting ice plant around the property, avoiding certain shingle materials, even installing sprinklers on roofs--were still damaged or destroyed.

“It was just a big pop and a solid wall of fire,” said Ralph Cox, 51, who was trapped in his home until firefighters knocked down the flames to give him an escape route.

Residents tried desperately to save their homes by using garden hoses but were hampered by low water pressure and the speed of the fire. Thick, acrid smoke blanketed much of Fallbrook and was visible in San Diego, 70 miles south.

Pete Jesperson tried to save his in-laws’ house until the flames became too intense and he was forced to flee. The soot-covered Jesperson clutched an American flag he managed to save and use as a screen to keep from inhaling the thick smoke.

Six helicopters from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, nine bulldozers and more than 650 firefighters and 100 fire engines from departments from San Diego and Orange counties were assigned to fight the fire. The engines were hampered by narrow, winding roads leading to the imperiled homes.

Two fire engines, a San Diego Sheriff’s Department car and two small buildings behind homes were destroyed.

Fallbrook, population 30,000, has long been popular with people looking for a “country lifestyle” within driving range of a major city. Many of the homes, advertised as “ranchettes,” cost $1 million or more and have mountaintop views that, on a clear day, provide a vista of the Pacific Ocean.

Some residents complained that the forestry department did not dispatch air tankers to drop water or fire-retardant chemicals. But forestry officials said the winds were too high and unpredictable.

An official with the San Diego Fire Department said some structures might have been saved if San Diego County had its own fire helicopter rather than relying on outside agencies.

“An aerial resource to coordinate incoming fire units to those remote areas is critical in attacking a fast-moving wildfire,” said Brian Fennessy of the air operations bureau of the San Diego Fire Department.

In 1996, 60 homes in the La Costa section of Carlsbad were destroyed by fire.

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Times correspondent Paul Levikow and Associated Press contributed to this report.

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