Highland Fire: Recently retired couple lose their home, belongings in Aguanga blaze
AGUANGA, Calif. (KABC) -- George and Luci Boyle had just paid their house off six months ago, and the recently retired couple was looking forward to a quiet life in the remote hills of Aguanga.
But now they're starting from scratch after their home was destroyed by the fast-moving Highland Fire.
"Everything is gone. There isn't anything left," said George Boyle, standing beside his pickup truck in a Walmart parking lot in Temecula. "We got a handful of clothes, and we have our dogs. And that's it."
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Boyle said it was early Monday afternoon that a neighbor came running over to tell them he saw smoke in the distance. Boyle estimates it was about four miles away. But the gusty Santa Ana winds were moving the fire quickly.
"It was windy. It was 40 to 50 mph in gusts," Boyle said. "Changing directions from southeast to southwest and back and forth."
Boyle said it wasn't the fire itself that spread to his home, but the embers that were fanned by the strong winds.
"Once the embers started blowing over and hit the ridge next to us, that's when it started," said Boyle.
His wife Luci grabbed what she could, and drove their truck down to a safe zone behind the home while he frantically grabbed a garden hose and tried to save their home.
"I tried putting it out with the hose, and it wasn't doing any good," Boyle said. "There was all this toxic smoke coming from the plastic, and it was blowing in my face, so I had to move."
That's when he realized their best move would be to wait in the safe zone behind the home to let the fire pass, since the road up to his home was too narrow and too close to the flames on either side.
"It's a one way in and one way out," he said. "The neighbor's house was on fire, and so we hunkered down in my safe zone, and we stayed down there."
The Boyles escaped with all seven of their dogs, but they had to leave several of their cats behind. It's unclear whether any of them survived. Almost all of their possessions were destroyed in the fire.
"My wife makes patchwork quilts, and all her sewing machines, all my tools, my welding equipment - just everything is gone," Boyle said.
A family member started a GoFundMe account to help the Boyles start the rebuilding process. In the meantime, George and Luci are trying to remain positive.
"I look at the positive all the time, I can't be depressed," Boyle said. "In a situation like this, my wife was complaining that she wanted new carpets. So I guess she's going to get new carpets."
