I am one of the most lucky people in the world to live in Elfin
Forest, California. The best
little horse community in San DiegoCounty.Seven years ago most of this community
and parts of its neighbors Carlsbad, San Marcos and
Encinitas was severely burned in the infamous Harmony Grove Fire.Today you would never know such devastation
ever occurred.Not only is ElfinForest the best
place to have a horse in San DiegoCounty, the
community members are incredible.
I live on the side of a mountain, surrounded on 2 sides by
brush that is tender dry.I have 5
horses on the lower part of the property, the most venerable part. The last several days have been nerve
racking to say the least.I
have become a clean freak at the barn.No stray hay is allowed and all stalls are spotless!
Last night at 2 am I was awakened by the sound of
sirens.I ran down the hall toward
the front door smelling thick smoke, much stronger than when I went to
bed.As I ripped the door open I
was greeted by the orange flickering glow of a fire in the brush below our
property.I started screaming to my
family to evacuate as visions of flames danced in my mind.The smoke was sickeningly thick.As we quickly tossed our pre-packed bags
into our car, my husband, Jerry noticed the
orange glow was gone replaced by the blinking lights of the local volunteer Fire
Department.I could hear the voices
of my neighbors working the fire below and was comforted by the familiar
sounds.
As the smoke was not getting worse and the glow was gone Jerry went to recon
before I started to spray fire retardant material on the house and load our
horses.I called my neighbors and
block captain to institute our street safety program.Within minutes Jerry had good
news, the fire was out and we could stay home.The quick work done by the Fire Department
saved our valley again.I was
spared the heart break of having 5 horses and only a 2 horse trailer.
Unfortunately the good news was tempered by the shock of the
origin of the fire.Yes, it was
most likely arson, started by some wacko looking to fill a sick desire.
We are an isolated rural community like most horse
communities in California. We can not
depend on the “authorities” to be able to patrol our streets as we
would like even in normal times.So
tonight over 100 people showed up on less than a few hours notice to set up a
community fire patrol to assist the overburdened authorities.It is so incredible to be a part of such
a community.In spite of all the incontinence
and late hours every one present tonight volunteered to man a shift and patrol
our streets.I can sleep tonight
knowing my back and my horses are covered by the best little horse community in
San Diego, ElfinForest.
