Evacuees blessed to return to their safe homes

Lisa Redwine eagerly moves back into her home in Poppet Flats.

“It’s been crazy. We’ve been waiting at the bottom of the hill a lot hoping to come up. Haven’t been able to come up,” Redwine said.

She worked until midnight the day evacuation orders were lifted, so this was her first chance to come and see the status of her home.

“It’s really scary. It’s devastating. I already knew of a lot of people’s home who had burned up. It’s really sad. I had a friend who has kids starting school and she lost her home, everything,” Redwine said.

Redwine got lucky, as did her neighbor.

“I had my chickens up here. They had no food or water for a couple days. I had a friend who stayed up here and fed them for me,” Ken Taylor said.

As people spent the day moving back into their homes, they tell us they have a new appreciation for the places they live.

“I feel blessed. A lot of people lost everything,” Redwine said.

“I don’t think you can put a money value or price on it. It’s impossible. You can’t replace everything,” Taylor said.

Others haven’t felt the joy of returning home yet. Twin Pines and the Silent Valley RV Park remain under evacuation.

“Two different stories. Twin Pines has a lot of infrastructure damage. Still some trees we have to take care of before we let residents back in. Silent Valley, there’s still some operational issues we’re dealing with,” Jeff LaRusso of the Riverside County Fire Department said.

LaRusso said he’s hoping those communities can go back home very soon.