Garrett Keane observed that Airport fire case gets closer He moved into his neighborhood above Lake Elsinore this week, but that afternoon he was suddenly warned to get away.
As ash rained down, Keene and his wife packed up their three young daughters, their infant son and their family’s most precious possessions — a menagerie of dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, birds, turtles and pigs, 46 animals in all — and fled their neighborhood off Ortega Highway amid 100-foot-high flames. When the 33-year-old father returned, he found that the three-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot ranch-style home he’d built from scratch had been reduced to a pile of ash and rubble.
As details of the fire’s damage emerged, Keene questioned why the evacuation order came so late and was only given via loudspeaker, and why air resources were not deployed to his neighborhood when areas across Orange County were crowded.
“For 24 hours we did not see a single plane, a single helicopter, a single fire engine here. We did not see anyone until 45 minutes to an hour before the incident,” he said about his family’s narrow escape on Tuesday.
A car was crushed by a fallen tree in front of a home destroyed by the Airport Fire in the village of El Cariso.
El Cariso Village The Riverside County mountain community of about 250 people in the Santa Ana Mountains — was devastated during the fire. Keene said the firespotting app WatchDuty indicated the fire was growing and headed toward them, so he alerted neighbors to prepare for the inevitable before any officials said so.
“We were five minutes away from a horrible nightmare,” Keane said.
Friday, the Orange County Fire Authority “There were multiple helicopters, air support and firefighters out there — everybody was battling the fire to protect lives and property,” Capt. Steve Concialdi said, but he had no specifics about when or where the helicopters and planes actually were when the fire reached the Keene neighborhood.
“Our hearts go out to all the people whose homes or cars were damaged,” Concialdi said. “Fortunately, only two civilians suffered minor injuries and 10 firefighters were hurt and all made it out alive.”
Robert Lucas looks up the hill after part of his enclosure caught fire during the Airport Fire near Ortega Highway. “The flames were as far as I could see. Should I stay or should I leave?” Lucas said. All of his animals survived the fire.
Days after the fire passed, charred trees still smoked from the heat, and the ground was strewn with broken glass, nails and downed power lines. At a neighboring house Keene rented to a mother of two, the fire had blown out windows and the front door. An unfinished puzzle lay on the dining room table, and children’s drawings and a note written in red crayon wishing them a “wonderful life” were stuck to the refrigerator.
Steve Mangino, 63, also questioned why people in the neighborhood weren’t warned sooner, and were instead left to struggle on their own.
Mangino, a neighbor who rents with Keane, was in the area again Thursday. When he opened the door to his red barn, he got a glimpse of what might be inside.
He said, “Let’s see whether my purpose of living still remains or not.”
His two prized motorcycles were safe from the fire – a relief, and he said it was also a sign of winning a lottery ticket.
An unfinished puzzle still lies on the dining room table after the door of a home in the village of El Carrizo was destroyed in the airport fire.
Airport fire Started Monday in Trabuco Valley And it was caused by sparks from heavy equipment. It has burned more than 23,000 acres. Several homes in the village of El Carcio were destroyed and piles of burned vehicles and old collectible cars were scattered throughout the area. The evacuated area was quiet and mostly empty Thursday, except for firefighters patrolling and the occasional resident who came back to check on the aftermath.
Stephen Kukulik, 70, said he had never seen a fire like that in the 48 years he lived in El Carcio Village. The back of his home was consumed by the flames, but the rest of the home was untouched. Kukulik, a former fire captain, said he was lucky; other properties were not as badly affected.
Down the street from their home, a staircase and two entry lamps are all that remains of the house that once overlooked a small view. Nearby, a 5.5-acre property was gutted; a pool and waterslide remain intact, but the area where there was once a large family room and kitchen was gutted.
Resident Garrett Keene stands near the wreckage of his home, which was destroyed in the airport fire in the village of El Cariso.
Keane believes the community will rebuild — at least that’s his plan. As he walked through the rubble of his home, he pointed to what once was — the master bedroom, the sofa, the kitchen where there was now a warped concrete island, the spot where one of his daughters used to ride her tricycle.
He’s grateful his family and animals got out safely. But the anger and questions remain.
“We were neglected,” he said.
