Retirement communities built on golf courses, thoroughbreds in race horse stables and other usually serene sites were engulfed by flames as Southern California’s wildfires raced towards San Diego on Thursday night.
Since breaking out on Thursday afternoon in Bonsall, The Lilac Fire has torched 4,100 acres, taking with it 65 individual structures.
They included the Rancho Monserate Country Club community in Fallbrook which Lilac consumed in a matter of hours.
Three people were burned by the flames as they fled the site, leaving behind their precious belongings. By Friday, the entire community was reduced to smouldering rubble.
Lilac is one of six fires continuing to terrorize Southern California. Combined, they have scorched almost 160,000 acres of land across the state. Three other fires which burned earlier in the week are now contained but continue to blaze.
They were intensified on Friday as Santa Ana winds of up to 60mph whipped the flames.
The first death as a result of the fire was reported overnight in Ventura which has been victim to the monstrous Thomas Fire for four days. The person was found overnight in Ventura County and has not been identified.
The Rancho Monserate Country Club community Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in Fallbrook, California, which was destroyed overnight by the fast-moving Lilac wildfire
A statue sits among destroyed homes in the Rancho Monserate Country Club community Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in Fallbrook, Calif. The wind-swept blazes have forced tens of thousands of evacuations and destroyed dozens of homes in Southern California. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Fire crews search for hot spots among destroyed homes in the Rancho Monserate Country Club community Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in Fallbrook, Calif. The wind-swept blazes have forced tens of thousands of evacuations and destroyed dozens of homes in Southern California
Fire crews search for hot spots among destroyed homes in the Rancho Monserate Country Club community Friday, Dec. 8, 2017, in Fallbrook, Calif. The wind-swept blazes have forced tens of thousands of evacuations and destroyed dozens of homes in Southern California
Marissa Sherman reacts as she sees the destroyed home of her grandfather Dick Marsala at in the retirement community
Lilac fire broke out Thursday amid dry, hot, windy conditions across the region that would be extreme for any season, but are especially stunning just two weeks from winter.
The fire remained uncontained early Friday although the winds subsided significantly overnight.
Forecasters said they would return later in the day but would be less widespread than on Thursday.
The fire was on the eastern border of the Marine Corps’ vast Camp Pendleton, where base Fire Chief Thomas Thompson told Fox5 San Diego that the lack of wind should help the firefight. Marine and Navy aircraft will join the battle, he said.
Meanwhile, firefighters in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles, gained 10 percent containment of the largest and most destructive fire in the state, which has destroyed 430 buildings. The so-called Thomas Fire has grown to 206 square miles (533 sq. kilometers) since it broke out Monday. Fire crews also made enough progress against other large fires around Los Angeles to lift most evacuation orders.
The fire 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of San Diego, driven by winds above 35 mph (56 kph), razed rows of trailer homes in the retirement community, leaving charred and mangled metal in its wake.
It wasn’t immediately known what sparked the fire next to State Highway 76, but strong winds carried it across six lanes to the other side.
Evacuations were ordered in the area near Camp Pendleton and schools and casinos were being used as shelters.
Cynthia Olvera, 20, took shelter at Fallbrook High School.
She had been at her Bonsall home with her younger sister and nephew when her father called from the family nursery to say the fire had reached the gate of their sprawling property.
After starting to drive away, the family turned around to recover forgotten personal documents – but it was too late. Trees were ablaze and flames were within 10 feet (3 meters) of the house.
‘I didn’t think it would move that fast,’ she said.
Her older sister wanted to drive in to save her husband’s car, but Olvera told her: ‘Don’t do it. It’s not worth it.’
Her sister heeded the advice and the family made it safely to the school.
But the flames followed them, and the family had to pack up again when evacuation orders came for Fallbrook High School.
The community center as it was on fire on Thursday night. Three of the residents were burned as they fled but not seriously
Firefighters worked tirelessly to put out the flames but they could not contain them
Helicopters distributed water and fire engines were on site but it was not enough to stop the destruction
One of the homes in the community as it burned on Thursday night
The family went to a second shelter, not knowing if their house survived.
As the flames approached the elite San Luis Rey Downs training facility for thoroughbreds, many of the more than 450 horses were cut loose to prevent them from being trapped in their stables if barns caught fire, said Mac McBride of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
Herds of horses galloped past flaming palm trees in their chaotic escape of a normally idyllic place. Not all survived.
Horse trainer Scott Hansen said he knows that some of his 30 horses at the facility died.
‘I don’t know how many are living and how many are dead,’ he said.
The California Horse Racing Board said approximately 25 horses were killed when eight barns burned and others in adjacent pastures were unaccounted for. Surviving horses were taken to Del Mar race track and all of Friday’s races at Los Alamitos Race Course were canceled as the racing community mourned.
Along the coast between Ventura and Santa Barbara, tiny communities had so far survived close calls. Slopes along U.S. 101 were blackened, but homes remained standing at La Conchita and Faria Beach. Sections of Carpinteria were under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders, but no flames were in sight early Friday.
Flames consume a structure as the Lilac fire burns in Bonsai, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017
Firefighters battle the Lilac fire in Bonsall, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017
Flames consume a residence as the Lilac fire burns in Bonsall, California
Fire crews prepare to defend a home as a wildfire advances Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in Bonsall, Calif
A helicopter drops water over a wildfire Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in Bonsall, California
Fire crews look on as they fight a wildfire Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in Bonsall, Calif.
Inland from the coast the big fire burned vigorously in mountains near the town of Fillmore, but only outlying areas were evacuated. It also remained a threat to Ojai, a scenic mountain town of 7,000 people dubbed ‘Shangri-La’ and known for its boutique hotels and New Age spiritual retreats.
On Thursday, ash fell like snowflakes on citrus orchards scattered around town and on Spanish-style architecture as firefighters parked their trucks around houses in anticipation of winds picking back up.
Some businesses were closed, but staples could be found at Pat’s Liquor, where Hank Cheyne-Garcia loaded up with supplies to fuel through another edgy night keeping sentry on the fire.
‘It got a little too intense yesterday with the wind kicking up,’ he said. ‘There was just so much smoke. Yesterday you couldn’t see the street.’
Cynthia Olvera listens to an announcement that the evacuation shelter she’s in at Fallbrook High School in Fallbrook, Calif.
A helicopter flies over a wildfire Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in Bonsall, Calif
A helicopter drops water on a wildfire Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in Bonsall, Calif
Lupe Robles uses his phone to take pictures of a huge plume of smoke from a wildfire in Santa Paula, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017
Terrified horses gallop from San Luis Rey Downs as the Lilac Fire sweeps through the horse-training facility, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017
Cal Fire firefighter Reed Rasmussen hoses flames next to Bonsall High School as the Lilac Fire burns burns through Bonsall, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 7. 2017
Fire personnel drive along West Lilac Road as the Lilac Fire burns near Bonsall, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 7. 2017
Fire crews work among burning homes at the Rancho Monserate Country Club community Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in Fallbrook, Calif.
Flames burn behind a large tree decorated with Christmas lights at the the River Village shopping center at Highway 76 and South Mission Road as the Lilac Fire burns through Bonsall, Calif.
Fire crews work among destroyed homes at the Rancho Monserate Country Club community Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in Fallbrook, Calif. The wind-swept blazes have forced tens of thousands of evacuations and destroyed dozens of homes in Southern California