2006-2007 Orange Book: Internet Directory
Firestorm 03

Firestorm 03

Only once in a generation does a natural disaster come along that cuts such a path of destruction as the Cedars fire, which ravaged many communities, including Ramona.

The Cedars Fire started on Oct. 25, 2003, when a hunter who was lost signaled to rescuers with a fire, which quickly got out of control.

Because it was so close to sunset, and regulations prohibited flying at night, firefighters put off sending aircraft to fight the fire until the next day. But by then Santa Ana winds had whipped the blaze into a killing conflagration , with flames approaching San Diego Country Estates and Barona. It moved much faster than anyone could anticipate. Sheriff’s deputies raced through the threatened areas of Wildcat Canyon and were able to evacuate about 3,000 residents.

Firefighters were forced to alter their tactical thinking from attacking the fire, to posting themselves in front of homes and trying to save as many as possible. Often all they could do was reach sleeping residents and evacuate them moments before the fire arrived.

California Division of Forestry Battalion Chief Kelly Zombro would later testify before the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Committee that a thousand fire engines and crews posted at the Country Estates wouldn’t have stopped the fire in those early hours when it was driven before the winds.

The Barona Reservation fire department didn’t learn about the fire until 20 minutes before it swept through their area. It killed eight residents who lived in remote parts of the reservation.

Then the fire began moving towards Scripps Ranch and Lakeside. Another front took it through Ramona’s Mussey Grade area, burning many of the homes there.

The fire was turned back by coastal winds on its second day, and began moving east, towards the communities of Julian and Cuyamaca. It was to wipe out most of the homes near Lake Cuyamaca, and burned dozens of residences in Julian, but spared the historic town center.

The Cedars fire was ultimately to cost $27 million to fight, burned 280,278 acres, destroyed 2,232 homes, and claimed the lives of 13 civilians and a CDF firefighter (Engineer Steven Rucker, 38.).

There are many lessons to be learned from the fire, which, when combined with all of the fires burning in San Diego County that week, was the largest in California history.

One of the most important is that newer homes that employed fire retardant materials and landscaping were more like to survive than older houses that didn’t have these advantages. The evidence was stark in some communities, where, often, a single home could be seen amidst the ruin.