My mom in the backyard at 3am right before they left the house.
The view from the side yard.
From Nancy Trout...
GOD is wonderful. Terry and I are overcome with gratitude and humbleness that the Lord saved our home. IT IS HIS!!!
Okay, here is the story for those that missed out.
At 11PM, we could see a far away glow in the direction of Ramona which is east of us. At 12:45 AM, when Terry went to bed, the fire must have gone into a valley as the glow had greatly diminished.
Nancy awoke at 3 AM to the phone ringing and a wrong number! Hmmm, the Lord works in mysterious ways! She noticed how light it was outside. Thinking Terry might have left a light on in the family room she went down the hall and was shocked to find that the fire was on the ridge line directly across the valley. Those were the earlier pictures. It took only about 1/2 an hour before it was coming down the mountain towards us. At about 3:45 AM it was in the valley that our backyard looks over. You'll see the pictures. We could hear the sickening sounds of the consuming fire and feel it's heat as it came nearer. It was time to GET OUT.
Yes, we took the 'old' Nintendo, the game cube we could replace! Lots of clothes, pictures, files and the computer tower. Funny how 'stuff' really becomes just stuff when you start thinking what is important and what is not. The surf boards, guitar and Mom's china was left. STUFF!
We sat at McDonald's from about 4:30 am until 7:00 am. Than we got gas for the cars and went to see if we could get up to the house. NO.
The air by then was unbelievable, and the winds were really howling. It was very hard to breathe. It was thick and orange from the rising sun. Pictures of what daylight looked like are included.
About noon, we decided to try and find a hotel. We drove clear to Oceanside looking for rooms, everyone was evacuated and already booked. Finally, Terry's secretary found us a room at Welk resort in north Escondido, just off the 15. The air there was clear. Even though there were fires on both sides they were far enough away to feel safe. Yeah sure! Awoke early, and at 8 AM pounding on the door gave us another evacuation order. Okay Lord, you gave us both a really good night sleep and we'll go!
Heading with both cars towards San Diego to Terry's office, he changed his mind and headed to 2811 Sunset Hills. San Pasqual was still blocked but Ryan was open and we turned up it to head home. Houses were ok, we both thought.... maybe...
Rounding Sunset Hills we began to see the scorched earth, the burned trees, however still not home damage. We can't even begin to explain the overwhelming feelings that came when we pulled up to our home. It's a mess and pictures show it. We checked our neighbors and they were both gone. The fire had swept through all the ridges and gullies between homes. The firefights kept the fire off structures, what wonderful people firefighters are! Our neighbor to the west still had some hot spots smoldering and we went over and hosed down those and used the shovel. We checked out other places in the neighborhood also. Across the street you can really see the fire damage, yet again so close to houses but no damage to them.
The yard is a mess, the house is full of ash. Who cares! Not me!!!!!
The CDF has helicopters still flying over to make sure that there are no flare ups from hot spots. We are spending the night tonight and feel safe.
Thank you to everyone for praying for us. We are grateful for your love and concern. Enjoy the pictures... IT WAS AN ADVENTURE OF THE GRANDEST SCALE!
Please continue to pray for the winds to abate, the fires to be put out and that lives and houses will be spared, like ours!
