A brush fire driven by strong winds forced families from their homes Tuesday morning, giving some residents only minutes to gather their belongings and leave. The fire started around 8:30 a.m. near Finley and quickly spread across approximately 200 acres, threatening roughly 100 homes in the area. By evening, evacuation orders had been reduced, though the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
For Faye Frucci, a resident whose home sat in the fire’s path, the morning unfolded with startling speed. Her neighbor arrived at her door at 8:47 a.m. with an urgent message: evacuate immediately. Within minutes, she was forced to leave. “I could not believe how fast it came down through the canyon,” Frucci said.
The evacuation proved chaotic. Frucci initially couldn’t locate her cat before finally finding the animal and leaving her home. From a distance, she could only watch the trees that concealed her house and wait to learn whether her property had survived.
“If they hadn’t gotten on this so fast—within 20 minutes at the most of hearing from this, we had to evacuate. I just praise the Lord that they were so good. I can’t thank them enough,” Frucci said.
Apple Valley News Now
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