Three years
later, Cedar Fire still hits home
By Christy
Scott
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — While the 2003 firestorm that burned through the
area grows foggy in our memories, the devastation is still very
real for those who lost their homes in the blaze. All of the major
recovery groups have left, the donated and federal monies have
been spent, and yet, more than half of the houses destroyed, about
1,000 have yet to be rebuilt.
Many continue to struggle with insurance agencies and
county bureaucracy to get their homes rebuilt. Only one local
group remains a source of information and support for fire
survivors, the Cedar Fire Rebuilding Resource Group. The group
offers tips to those rebuilding, as well as ideas on fire proofing
new homes, and offers support for those feeling defeated by the
process.
“The Cedar fire burned more than people’s homes — it
burned people’s lives,” said David Kassel, who coordinated the
CFRRG.
“Do we as citizens just abandon them?” said Dawn
Hubert, who was a Salvation Army caseworker working with fire
victims in Crest. “I just can’t imagine San Diego is that kind of
place.”
More than 2,400 homes were lost to the fires that swept
through the county in October 2003. Since then, all but nine of
the 312 homes that burned in Scripps Ranch and Tierrasanta in the
city of San Diego have been rebuilt.
Yet in the unincorporated county, where 2,137 houses
burned from Alpine to Valley Center to Crest, only 983, or 46
percent, have been rebuilt.
County figures show 363 houses are currently under
construction, and 45 homeowners are awaiting county approval of
their plans.
To many survivors, their lives, be it living in
trailers on their empty properties, or having left the area
completely, unable to rebuild, are a constant reminder of the
devastation of the Cedar Fire. And to those who lost their homes,
the memories and lessons of the firestorm will never fade.
“We were absolutely not prepared,” said Valerie. “We
kept listening to the news and everything was talking about
downtown — we had no idea the fire was going to come around the
back.
“We spent most of out time throwing our stuff out into
the middle of the field trying to prepare our house — and that
didn’t work. As we were trying to make our house fire proof the
fire had come over the hill and the forest service came and said
get out, get out, get out.
“We have our motor home, we have our animals and so we
try to get into town, but we just couldn’t maneuver.
“I started to panic and cry when I see the fire hit our
house as we’re sitting at the end of the dirt road. We had to pull
over, we leave our trailer; we leave everything, jump into the car
with the animals and try to get out.
“We went to my mom’s in Crown Hills to get her, but we
couldn’t all fit in the car so we had to leave some of the animals
there and we just kept going east away from the smoke — we ended
up in El Centro.
“In the meantime, we had left everything in the motor
home: My husband and I, neither of us had any money, I didn’t have
my wallet, I didn’t have my purse, I didn’t have my shoes, I
didn’t have my clothes; all those things that we had gotten ready
and packed were lost because all of a sudden it was critical, for
your life, and all that material stuff didn’t matter.”
“We’re rebuilding,” Valeria said. “We’ve put a lot of
money into our water tanks, our pumps, widening our road — the
fact is that they never could have fought to save out house in the
situation we were in — they just couldn’t get to it.
“Will we ever have a Cedar Fire again — I don’t know —
but at least I know that there’s a chance now that the
firefighters can save our house.”
This is just one story
from a local Alpine resident — I know you’ve got your own tale
from that day. If you would like to share your Cedar Fire story,
or the saga of your efforts to rebuild your home and your life,
please contact me, Christy Scott, at 445-3288 or e-mail me.
 E-mail
the Editor
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