By: PHILIP K. IRELAND - Staff Writer | ∞
Bill Wechter Staff Photographer / Scotts Valley Fire Department Captain Andy Knox surveys the wreckage of a destroyed home Wednesday on the east side of Lake Hodges at the end of Via Loma Vista.
DEL DIOS -- Fire-shocked residents -- some dazed by their losses, some ecstatic at their good fortune -- returned to their homes around Lake Hodges on Wednesday. 
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"I'm alive, my kids are alive, and I've got my dog," said Darrell Connelly, a 30-year-resident of Del Dios. "What else do you want?"
A paraplegic, Connelly sat in his pickup truck as his son Chris probed the remains of his father's home at the corner of Lake Drive and Elm Street with a charred length of steel looking for his father's guns. As superintendent of the Del Dios Water District, Connelly divided his time between organizing repairs to the local water system and directing his son's search.
The Witch Creek fire, the largest of four wildfires burning in North County, swept through the hills on the south shore of Lake Hodges Tuesday morning, reducing about 15 upscale homes to smoke and ash in the Via Loma Vista neighborhood. Within hours it had leveled an additional 16 or more in Connelly's Del Dios community to the west.
Del Dios, a quaint, densely wooded borough of more than 100 wooden, 1950s-era lake cottages wedged between Lake Hodges and Del Dios Highway west of Escondido, is popular among artists, craftsmen and writers.
A few blocks west of Connelly's home, Dan Wycinsky stood among the rubble of his $800,000 home that three days ago featured a brand new pool.
"We swam in it once, and then it got cold," said Wycinsky, who watched his home and his mother's granny flat burn on a TV news broadcast.
He pointed to a 30-foot king palm his mother had planted 45 years ago that survived the firestorm. Wycinsky said he was raised in the Del Dios home and recently moved back in to care for his 90-year-old mother.
"You kind of feel like you want to cry but your logic tells you 'It is what it is' so you just have to go with it," said Wycinsky.
A contractor who does demolition work, Wycinsky said his tractors stored at the rear of his property survived.
"So I still have my livelihood," he said. "Looks like there's going to be plenty of work out here now."
Reached by phone, Greg Finley thanked firefighters for their efforts in saving his home and many others in Del Dios.
"I'm so blessed that the firefighters were there and were able to save that little house," Finley said. "I hope our community will be able to rise from the ashes. There's a great spirit here in Del Dios and I think we'll be able to do that."
Finley said he was frustrated with authorities, who repeatedly blocked his attempts to get to his home.
Meanwhile, residents also began returning to their homes in the Via Loma Vista area, a hilltop neighborhood dotted with upscale homes. At the end of Via Loma Vista, Skip and Nancy Bratten held each other close as they spoke of raising their three sons in the house that now lay smoking behind them. Their home was one of two at the end of street that burned.
"That's our old house," Bratten said. "That's what's left of 31 years. We're lucky nobody got hurt -- and the only thing we lost was the house and some papers."
The Brattens said they would begin the process of rebuilding.
"This area will rebound," he said. "We have a lot of good neighbors and friends. This is a good place to be from. It's not as pretty as it once was, but it will grow back. So we'll move on and rebuild -- I think we want to rebuild."
Their sons had come from Northern California to support their parents in this disaster, said Brad Bratten.
"I'm sad -- sad for my parents. It's tough. They're 66 and 62 years old. For them to have to go through that," Bratten said, his voice a whisper, his eyes welling up with tears.
Bratten said he and his twin brother used to play in the canyon with another set of twins who lived nearby.
"We spent a lot of time down there in that canyon hiking around, catching snakes, shooting things -- we had a good time," Bratten said. "That was a neat place to grow up."
An additional 12 homes burned along Via Valle Vista, a winding road off of Via Loma Vista.
Via Valle Vista residents Ken and Nancy Walery watched Tuesday from a nearby ridge as the fire raged through their neighborhood. They said they had suspected that their house had burned, but thick smoke shielded that reality from them until Wednesday morning.
When they fled Monday morning, the couple grabbed financial papers, family photos, a computer --- "and not enough clothes," Ken Walery said with a laugh.
Nancy Walery said she dreaded the process of dealing with insurance adjusters and contractors, but looked forward to creating a dream house.
"There are things we've always wanted to do and now we can do them just the way we like them," she said.
-- Contact staff writer Philip K. Ireland at (760) 901-4043 or pireland@nctimes.com.
Dan wrote on Oct 25, 2007 2:03 AM:Don't worry people clueless George will be here in the morning. He will be here to make all of his promises. Promises that will come from the same mouth that said Sadaam had WMD's. Same mouth that declared victory in Iraq the last appearance in San Diego. Same mouth...we'll folks you get my point. Hope you all have fire insurance...thanks George W. for the appearance and the photo op.
Pat wrote on Oct 25, 2007 2:17 AM:Good lord! These people have just suffered the pain of losing a home and just about everything they owned... and the first thing you think about is spewing your political views?! Did you ever consider showing, oh, I don't know... a little SYMPATHY for the victims and what they are going through? You need a serious reassessment of your priorities and your world view, Dan...
Sad Sad Dan wrote on Oct 25, 2007 4:14 AM:Let me guess Dan, you're a Democrat? Can we just leave the politics of Bush Hate our of this? Kudos to those who exibit faith, love and hope after they lose their homes... a great example to us all!
Vista Granny wrote on Oct 25, 2007 5:13 AM:I feel sorry for those who lost their homes, but I think it was not something they never expected to happen. I do suggest that anyone living in the midst of highly flamable trees and shrubs keep all valuable papers in a bank safe deposit box, not at home. As for the "value" of homes burned. Does it really matter if a house is worth 3 million dollars, or is a shack? Home is home!
The article wrote on Oct 25, 2007 8:44 AM:stated that the del dios area is home to artists, craftsmen and writers. It didnt say anything about the meth labs found there...go figure. I wonder why it burned so fast with all the wood and chemicals around?
marilyn wrote on Oct 25, 2007 8:50 AM:talked with firement from out of our area who worked to save houses in both Del Dios and Rancho Santa Fe area. They said they work as hard in each place, but the old dry wooden houses in Del Dios, surrounded by tinder dry plm trees (that literally explode with cascades of sparks over a wide area), shrubs and trees surrounding houses, narrow roads that restrict their trucks, leave them little chance to save very much. They also admit that all our resolutions to clear brush and trees from around our houses sinply don't last long enough for most of us to take action. Maybe we ought to have a "Chain Saw Day" around our neighborhoods, with help to carry off the cuttings of branches, deadish trees, and debris, and then we might survive the next big fires better. I have admired nearly every part of the response to this emergency, but we all need to help BEFORE the next one.
Lydia wrote on Oct 25, 2007 10:36 AM:A scientist remarked that our fire season is about two months longer than in prior years due to global warming. The population grows and water resources are dwindling. Without making some major life style changes across the county, this area will continue to be devastated year after year.
carl wrote on Oct 25, 2007 12:35 PM: I had lived and worked in the Escondido city limits for years and have seen this (fire storms) too many times in this same area, last time the ceder fire. I sincerely hope my friends in the area and around the North County Fair will be safe. I'm living in Hawaii now and it happens here also. I have to respect the land, it gives us back the things we live and work for. Stay safe,come back!
Janet wrote on Oct 25, 2007 12:45 PM:In my neighborhood (nearby Del Dios) everyone complains about other people but have fire hazards all over their properties. Start with the first 30 feet. Remove overhanging limbs, highly flammable trees (palms, eucalyptus, pines, pepper trees), overgrown shrubs, all wood (fences, lawn furniture, etc.). Irrigate this regularly. Next 70 feet: No regular irrigation (occasional okay), thinned, dead wood removed. Remove or cut back tall flammable trees, especially those on slopes, that could ignite your house. Clear instructions are available, but most people completely ignore them. They think only brush will burn. Last time I walked through my neighborhood, I could not find a single house with less than 10 problems. Most had 100s. My neighbor has around 18 pines around his house at the top of a steep slope, one 100 feet tall with branches 15 feet from my structure. The problem is that there are all kinds of guidelines, but NONE of them are enforced with respect to landscaping because people don't want to hear it. People in my area are constantly putting in new stuff that is not allowed, according to the guidelines.
To NCT Fact Checker wrote on Oct 25, 2007 1:37 PM:"...the south shore of Lake Hodges..." is either the Dam, or Rancho Bernardo, not Via Loma Vista, which is on the North Shore of the lake. And many homes were built in the 1920s, so these are not "...1950s-era lake cottages...".
Bette wrote on Oct 25, 2007 2:28 PM:This is no time for politcal views, placing blame and what "should have" been done or not done !!!!!!! I live within walking distance of the De Dios fires. Fortunaltely I am home now and I didn't lose anything but a few days of inconvenience. We that have been this fotunate should be thanking God that we made it and praying for those who have lost so much. May God bless all the firefighters and any other organization that have been putting their lives on the line to saving whatever could have been saved. My daughter wasn't so lucky......she lost everything in Fallbrook......Thank God I didn't lose her.
trish wrote on Oct 25, 2007 2:34 PM:How did the people in the article get down to their homes anyway? The area still has not been released for residents to return. The CHP, police, and sometimes the National Guard have been manning the roadblocks. How did they sneak in? We have not been able to get back home there.
Eddie wrote on Oct 25, 2007 2:36 PM:Our hearts go out to all affected by the fires. Stand strong. Tomorrow will be a better day. God bless you all. Mckinney, Texas.
Theotis wrote on Oct 25, 2007 3:00 PM:Right on, Dan the Man! Dig it, people; It's all Bush's fault!! The Man is trying to keep up down!
Nancy wrote on Oct 25, 2007 5:35 PM:so Mr. "The Article," why didn't you use your name when you posted your mean spirited comments? You don't know what you're talking about. Del Dios is a wonderful community of warm and caring people. We have just suffered a terrible loss and deserve better than comments like those from small-minded and even smaller-hearted people like you.
OldTimeResident wrote on Oct 25, 2007 5:46 PM:Right on Dan, I will also give you a BIG hand. It's all Bush's doing, no doubt about that: destruction is his mantra and he's just giving you a little taste of what the Iraqi's go through everyday of the week since the US invasion began, looking for those "weapons of mass destruction." As our current VP once said: "If you lie the lie over and over and over again, it will become the truth." We've all been had and that's really sad. I grew up as a kid in Del Dios in the late 50's. And that was one of the best places that I've ever lived. It was really sad to see the damage done there and else where in the North County. All you good people in the area, get together and make this place a better place. Good over evil & Love over hate!!!
Diane wrote on Oct 25, 2007 9:29 PM:I was one of the fortunate ones that was able to return to a home (between Citracado and Via Rancho)...others were not so lucky. My heart goes out to those who have lost theirs....this is a terrible life changing event. And thanks to CalFire for not allowing our military to go when they wanted to go. Thanks to CalFire for their 'requirements' stopping our military. Thanks to CalFire for contributing to the loss. We rely on our military to keep us safe...a job they WANTED to do and CalFire stopped them. I wonder how much job security a few select individuals feel they have at CalFire now. And I hope the military reacts the same way when CalFire calls on them!!!
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