Reporting from Bonsall — Geoffrey Smith heard it first from his neighbors: The wind-driven wildfire that swept through northern San Diego County had devoured his Bonsall home.
As he headed to his neighborhood over the weekend to see the destruction, the 70-year-old veterinarian’s mind drifted to what he likely lost.
A cherry wood cabinet he was making for his daughter in the barn out back. His family photos. Mementos grateful clients had given him. His wedding ring, which he’d taken off because his finger was swollen. A Bible his wife, Diana, gave him when they got married.
“Today is our 27th wedding anniversary,” he said Saturday, his eyes welling up with tears. They raised four kids in that home. “It had views to die for.”
All that was left was a pile of rubble. Soot-covered terracotta planters sat among heaps of ash and debris, as well as charred metal that had been furniture.
The destructive Lilac fire, which ignited Thursday near the intersection of State Route 76 and Interstate 15, scorched 4,100 acres and destroyed more than 150 structures, including homes and farm outbuildings. An additional 56 structures were damaged and 1,500 more were at risk, authorities said Sunday evening.
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A view of the Rancho Monserate Country Club community, where many homes were burned to ground when the Lilac Fire swept through Bonsall.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 2/36
A DC-10 air tanker makes a fire retardant drop on Lilac Fire in Bonsall.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 3/36
Helicopters make water drops on the Lilac fire in Bonsall.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 4/36
As the sun rises burned homes and cars scorched by the Lilac Fire become visable in Bonsall.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 5/36
An air tanker makes a fire retardant drop on Lilac Fire in Bonsall.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) 6/36
San Diego Fire and Rescue firefighters Corey Tang, hosing, Steven Benitez, and Capt. Jack Middleton, left, stand in the side yard of a home as they protect it from the Lilac Fire in Bonsall.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7/36
A home is a few seconds from total collapse as the Lilac fire rages along Olive Hill Road.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 8/36
A firefighting helicopter makes a water drop to help save homes on Via Montellano as firefighters battle the Lilac fire in the early hours of Dec. 8.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 9/36
A burning tree on Olive Hill Road throws embers into the air.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 10/36
A firefighter turns away from the heat as flames explode through the front windows of a home burning in the Lilac fire at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 11/36
Firefighters study fire activity outside a housing development on Camino Del Rey as the Lilac fire continues to burn.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 12/36
Camp Pendleton firefighters watch as the fire approaches before battling to save apartments off Del Cielo Este near Bonsall.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 13/36
Firefighters battle the wind-fanned Lilac fire on Camino Del Rey in the Bonsall area.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 14/36
CAL Fire firefighter Sean Hughes lights a back fire on a smoldering patch of land along Camino Del Rey.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 15/36
Vista firefighters battle to save apartments off Del Cielo Este as the the Lilac fire burns Dec. 7 near Bonsall.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 16/36
A helicopter drops water as firefighters battle the Lilac fire near Bonsall.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 17/36
A woman rescues horses as the Lilac fire burns in San Diego County.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 18/36
Palm trees burn and blow embers across a road in Bonsall.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 19/36
Numerous homes burn as firefighters pull hoses to keep flames from advancing to additional homes at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 20/36
Many homes burn as an Oceanside firefighter pulls hose to keep flames from advancing to adjacent homes while battling the Lilac fire at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 21/36
Firefighters battle a fire ball as mobile homes burn at the Lilac fire at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 22/36
Mobile homes burn as firefighters pull hose to keep flames from advancing to adjacent homes while battling the Lilac fire at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 23/36
A helicopter makes a water drop onto burning homes at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 24/36
Flames explode across the street as many homes burn at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 25/36
A firefighter pulls hose to keep flames from advancing to adjacent homes at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 26/36
An explosion in one of the many homes burning at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 27/36
A firefighter searches for a shut off valve for leaking water after the Lilac fire burned through a mobile home park at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 28/36
Hot embers burn and blow in the wind at Rancho Monserate Country Club in Pala Mesa.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 29/36
A home on West Lilac Road burns in the wind-fanned Lilac fire in the Bonsall area. The fast moving fire has charred 2,500 acres.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 30/36
Firefighters battle the wind-fanned Lilac fire in the Bonsall area. The fast moving fire has charred 2,500 acres.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 31/36
A home on West Lilac Road burns in the wind-fanned Lilac fire in the Bonsall area. The fast moving fire has charred 2,500 acres.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 32/36
A home on West Lilac Road burns in the wind-fanned Lilac fire in the Bonsall area. The fast moving fire has charred 2,500 acres.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 33/36
Firefighters battle the wind-fanned Lilac fire on Camino Del Rey in the Bonsall area. The fast moving fire has charred 2,500 acres.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 34/36
Firefighters battle the wind-fanned Lilac fire on Camino Del Rey in the Bonsall area. The fast moving fire has charred 2,500 acres.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 35/36
Firefighters battle the wind-fanned Lilac fire on Camino Del Rey in the Bonsall area. The fast moving fire has charred 2,500 acres.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 36/36
Firefighters battle the wind-fanned Lilac fire on Camino Del Rey in the Bonsall area. The fast moving fire has charred 2,500 acres.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) While residents reeled from the devastation, fire crews from San Diego to Los Angeles gained the upper hand on a series of wildfires fed during the last week by powerful Santa Ana winds. By Sunday evening, the Lilac fire, the cause of which is under investigation, was 75% contained and evacuation orders were lifted for large swaths of Bonsall and Fallbrook.
“Turning a corner would be a good way to put it,” said Capt. Jon Heggie of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “It didn’t grow at all today.”
Some 130 miles north, firefighters increased containment Sunday evening on three wildfires that ripped through communities in Los Angeles County.
All residents displaced by the Skirball fire — which scorched 422 acres, destroyed six structures and damaged another 12 — were allowed to return home. The blaze that tore through the exclusive Bel-Air neighborhood was 85% contained.
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A scorched pot is among the few remnants of a homeless site where investigators believe the Skirball blaze, which destroyed more than 400 acres, started.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 2/29
Firefighter Ken Williams puts out a hot spot on a fire-ravaged home along Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times ) 3/29
Firefighter Steve Barrett hits a hot spot on a fire-ravaged home on Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 4/29
Firefighters work a hot spot next to a vineyard charred by the Skirball fire in Bel-Air on Thursday.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times ) 5/29
The downtown Los Angeles skyline is visible through the smoke from the Skirball fire as seen from Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times ) 6/29
A firefighter carries a hose up stairs at a home destroyed by the Skirball fire along Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 7/29
Firefighter Bobby D’Amico looks out over the Getty Center while monitoring the scene over Bel-Air, where the Skirball fire has destroyed several homes.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 8/29
A helicopter scouts for hot spots from the Skirball fire in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 9/29
Firefighter Ray Schiller puts out a hot spot on a home destroyed by the Skirball fire on Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 10/29
A firefighter monitors the scene over Bel-Air, where the Skirball fire has destroyed several homes.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 11/29
The Getty Center seen through the smoke of the Skirball fire.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 12/29
A mansion is framed by trees charred in the Skirball fire in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 13/29
A Los Angeles City firefighter makes his way toward a home on Casiano Road that was destroyed by the Skirball fire.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 14/29
Los Angeles City firefighters Florin Sarbu, left, Dan Smithers and Robert Caropino monitor the Skirball fire from the backyard of a home on Casiano Road.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 15/29
Fredi Seraydarian, left, her husband, Paul, and son Mark wave to a helicopter pilot after he filled up with water at the Stone Canyon Reservoir.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 16/29
A Bel-Air home home on Linda Flora Drive burns in the Skirball fire.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 17/29
The bedroom of a home is engulfed in flames from the Skirball fire along Linda Flora Drive in Bel Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 18/29
Firefighters battle a blaze at a home along Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 19/29
Firefighters work to save a home along Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 20/29
A car lies among the ruins caused by the Skirball fire at the end of Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 21/29
Firefighters try to save a home along Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air, where the Skirball fire prompted closure of the 405 Freeway as well as mandatory evacuations.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 22/29
A helicopter makes a water drop on the Skirball fire in Bel Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 23/29
Firefighters try to save a home along Linda Flora Drive.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 24/29
A helicopter makes a water drop on the Skirball fire that threatened several homes along Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 25/29
Firefighters try to save a home along Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 26/29
Firefighters near Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 27/29
A plume of smoke from the Skirball fire looms over a home in Bel Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 28/29
Firefighters in Bel-Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) 29/29
Smoke and fire from the Skirball fire threatens homes in Bel Air.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) The 6,049-acre Rye fire in Santa Clarita was 93% contained Sunday evening, while the 15,619-acre Creek fire in Sylmar was 95% contained.
Though winds calmed down Sunday, firefighters remained on high alert due to bone dry weather. A red flag warning, indicating extreme fire danger, was extended until Monday evening across much of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, according to the National Weather Service.
A similar warning in San Diego County expired at 8 p.m. Sunday. There, signs thanking firefighters were placed up and down West Lilac Road, where the fire swept through avocado groves and farms in the initial hours of the blaze.
Live updates: Track key details of all the major fires in Southern California »
A handful of Smith’s neighbors on the hilly Wrightwood Road in Bonsall also lost their homes. Some said they felt grateful to be alive.
“I was going to have to put in new kitchen cabinets and counters pretty soon,” said Mike Hulsizer, who lost his four-bedroom home. “I probably saved myself $20,000 right there.”
His 1949 Oldsmobile, a restoration project he inherited from a friend who died of cancer, was nearly finished after five years of work. It was gone, along with his Osprey Pilothouse boat.
Somehow, his chicken, Ole Red, rode out the fire in a coop, which was littered with ash. His wife’s garden was also relatively unscathed, a zucchini plant and bird feeder still intact.
“We’re going to rebuild,” Hulsizer said. “I believe something good will come out of this.”
Wilkens writes for the San Diego Union Tribune.
alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com
Twitter: @AleneTchek
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