LAKESIDE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Residents in a Lakeside neighborhood are assessing the damage after a fast-moving brush fire tore through the area, destroying at least six homes and damaging several others.
The Coches Fire broke out Monday afternoon, scorching about five acres. Two people were injured, one suffering burns and another from smoke inhalation, authorities said.
Despite the relatively small size of the blaze, strong winds pushed flames dangerously close to dozens of homes. Firefighters used water and retardant from the air in an effort to keep the flames from spreading to more properties, including the Monterey Mobile Lodge Park.
Fritz Strawder lives on Calleja Risa and said he feared his home would be lost when flames swept across a nearby ridgeline. He rushed door to door to alert neighbors, including his brother, who lives a few houses away.
“I got her out, started contacting all the neighbors, banging on their fences like a madman trying to get them away,” Strawder said.
Among those who fled the mobile home park was 90-year-old Evaleen Buhl, who is blind and relies on neighbors to warn her of danger. She lost a home in the 2003 Cedar Fire and nearly lost her mobile home Monday when flames reached her park.
Her home was damaged but still standing, unlike her neighbor’s house, which was reduced to rubble. Buhl said she considers her neighbor, Sharon Edwards, her “angel” for helping her escape.
“She and another man came and banged on my door and said you need to get out, you have a fire,” Buhl recalled. “I didn’t see smoke or smell smoke.”
Other residents shared similar stories of close calls. Heather Walton said she and her family worried they wouldn’t be able to save their cat as flames closed in. The pet survived, though her property sustained water damage, debris-filled pools and a destroyed fence.
“I’m at a loss of words to say because I’m so thankful that our house is still here,” Walton said.
Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire. Early indications suggest it may have been sparked by a malfunctioning catalytic converter on a passing vehicle.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
