Idyllwild and Palm Desert resident shares frightening story of evacuating Cranston Fire
“I think people were leaving. They know not to fool with this fire,” said Palm Desert resident and Idyllwild evacuee Becky Andelson.
Becky Andelson is one of the many from the Idyllwild area to find safety tonight – evacuating what she says is the worst fire she’s seen in her 30 years having a home on the hill.
Updated Cranston Fire evacuation centers
“The air quality was horrible and it was terrifying. Cars were driving up and down the streets with loud speakers saying get out, get out and the fire was coming over the ridge and it was black and it was probably the most terrifying fire I’ve seen,” said Andelson.
Luckily for Andelson she had her radio. What she says helped provide her with valuable information when other sources couldn’t.
“Having your amateur radio license is a very good thing because the landlines went down and the cell phone – my cell phone stopped operating as I came off the mountain, too,” said Andelson.
Which could have been another problem. But thankfully traffic wasn’t that bad.
“The traffic was moving because as soon as I heard the evacuation order I left. It would have been much worse on a weekend because the community swells to like 10,000 people,” said Andelson.
And among the visitors are the regular homeowners like Andelson. Those who have put their heart and soul into their community and its recent revival.
“I’m glad to be out of there but it’s just a very sad thing. They’ve done so many new nice things up there and it was growing, a community center, the center of Idyllwild, the park was just put in and it really shook me up,” said Andelson.
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