(KGTV) - In a backyard along Oak Springs Drive in San Diego Country Estates, an art studio sits heavily damaged. A few houses down, a gazebo filled with wood carvings was reduced to pieces.Just past the gazebo, I stood with Harvey and Carolyn Mendiola. Harvey said the burn scar on the hill behind his yard traces the path of the Creelman Fire."When the wind came, took seconds not minutes to come down the valley," Mendiola said.
"It felt like a fire torch coming, you could feel the heat.Harvey and his wife, Carolyn, only had time to grab their cats before driving off."I got in our car, in tears. I was thinking, our house is going to burn down. God help us," Carolyn said.Down the street, Mary Beth Camarena had also evacuated right after phoning her husband, a longtime firefighter with the San Miguel Fire District.
On duty, he raced back to the neighborhood."There were spot fires. He helped trimming back some brush, making sure no stuff happening on the other side of the street," Camarena said.In the end, his efforts and the work of all the fire crews saved the homes in the area."Can't believe it got to the retaining wall, but they saved the house. Amazing, Camarena said.The flames did claim Mendiola's gazebo and some 12 tiki carvings he carved himself.
Nearby, melted patio furniture and a burned bar were left behind.But the grateful couple will never forget returning to their home Wednesday and finding it standing."She was in tears, I just looked up and said thank you god, and thank God for the fighters, thank you guys for saving the house," Harvey Mendiola said.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Summary from source