Friends have set up a GoFundMe account for a Fallbrook family who lost everything in a predawn fire that leveled their home and sparked a small brush fire in a rural neighborhood in north San Diego County.
The fire was reported shortly after 4:30 a.m. Friday on the 40300 block of Sandia Creek Drive in the De Luz area of Fallbrook, according to the North County Fire Protection District.
The residents, Ron and Crystal Wylie and their daughter Kiersti, who operate the Sandia Creek Ranch Auxiliary Foundation for horse rescue, escaped unharmed although one of their cats died in the fire. But friends said they lost everything else.
“Their puppies made it out safely … (and) thankfully none of the 60+ horses on the property were injured,” friend Stephanie Unger said in the GoFundMe appeal. “But they lost everything in and around their home. There are no family pictures that survived. No memorabilia. Nothing. They do not know what insurance will cover, but it is believed that the contents are not insured.
“This is a family who loves people and animals alike. They would give the shirt off their backs to help somebody. They … have devoted their lives to caring for horses and people. They also run a Pony Club Riding Center and work hard to educate people about horses and proper horse care and riding. They are strong advocates for horses and well respected in their community.”
The residence was fully engulfed in flames and nearby brush and trees were ablaze when firefighters arrived, NCFPD PIO Capt. John Choi said.
It took about 90 minutes to subdue the structure fire, and the crews — including personnel from Cal Fire and nearby Camp Pendleton — had the roughly quarter-acre vegetation blaze extinguished about 20 minutes later, Choi said.
No firefighters or residents suffered any injuries, but Choi said the home was a complete loss.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
— City News Service