2003 Cedar Fire - Movie made by David Russell

In 2003 we were living in Crest outside El Cajon, CA, when a wildfire fueled by the Santa Ana winds blew through our community. When it was over more than 2200 houses burned down, including ours. Even more tragic, the fast-moving flames killed 15 people.

We would see reports of people getting calls when they were supposed to evacuate, and patrol cars using speakers to warn people the flames were coming their direction. But we had none of that.

The Emergency Broadcast system didn't have an alert. We never received a call from the reverse 911 system. We didn't have law enforcement with bullhorns calling for an evacuation (the system was overwhelmed and they did not have the manpower to warn everyone). The fire was moving incredibly fast, and the hills and erratic winds made it difficult to know where the fire was heading next. We received only one warning call, and it was from an LDS Church with HAM radio operators that were monitoring the progress of the fire and calling people to warn them when the fire was getting close to their community.

20 minutes after we left we were later told flames higher than the Eucalyptus trees near our property came roaring up the hill. A few hours later we were told our house had burned to the ground. While a shock, I still felt blessed to know my family was safe. 15 others lost a lot more than possessions.

Killed in the fire:

Galen Blacklidge — 50, Lakeside, teacher, artist -- Died October 26, 2003 while trying to escape in her vehicle

Christy-Anne Seiler-Davis — 42, Alpine - Died October 26, 2003 while in her home on Vista Viejas Road in Alpine

Gary Edward Downs — 50, Lakeside, small-business owner -- Died October 26, 2003 while trying to escape the flames on Wildcat Canyon Road

John Leonard Pack — 28, Lakeside - Died October 26, 2003 along with his wife Quynh trying to escape the fire on Wildcat Canyon Road

Quynh Yen Chau Pack — 28, Lakeside - Died October 26, 2003 along with her husband John trying to escape the fire on Wildcat Canyon Road

Mary Lynne Peace — 54, Lakeside, nurse - Died on October 26, 2003 along with her sister-in-law Robin Sloan near the Barona Indian Reservation

Steven Rucker — 38, Novato, firefighter, died October 29, 2003 in Julian on firefighting operations

Stephen Shacklett — 54, Lakeside, construction superintendent - Died October 26, 2003 while trying to escape the fire in his motorhome on Muth Valley road

James Shohara — 63, Lakeside, correctional officer - Died October 26, 2003 along with his wife and son while trying to escape near San Vicente Reservoir, Lakeside

Solange Shohara — 43, Lakeside, correctional officer - Died October 26, 2003 along with her husband and stepson while trying to escape near San Vicente Reservoir, Lakeside

Randy Shohara — 32, Lakeside - Died October 26, 2003 with his stepmother and father trying to escape near San Vicente Reservoir, Lakeside

Robin Sloan — 45, Lakeside, Walmart employee - Died October 26, 2003 attempting to escape the fire near the Barona Indian Reservation

Jennifer Sloan — 17, Lakeside, student - Died October 26, 2003 along with her mother Robin while attempting to escape the fire near the Barona Indian Reservation

Ralph Marshall Westley — 77, Lakeside, retired retail clerk, discovered October 27, 2003 at 1088 Barona Road.

Unknown found mid-December in the I-15/SR 52 area.

This movie was made by David Russell of the LDS church's Granite Hills Ward. He did an incredible job of capturing the sights and sounds of the community during that difficult time in 2003.

Statistics:

Started in the afternoon of October 25, 2003 in the Cedar Creek Falls Area.

This was the worst fire in California history.

The fire spread at a rate of 3600 acres per hour in the first 36 hours. At one point, it spread 40,000 acres in one hour.

113 injuries

15 deaths

2,232 homes destroyed

53 homes damaged

22 commercial properties destroyed

566 additional structures destroyed

Estimated cost of fighting the fire: More than $31 million dollars.

Cause: Authorities believe it started when a lost hunter set a signal fire that continued to spread.

280,278 acres

Containment Date: 03 Nov 2003

Control date: 05 Dec 2003

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Cedar
• Fire
• 2003
• Crest
• San
• Diego
• Wildfire
• Firestorm
• Fleckenstein
• David
• Russell

[solarfleck]

When I rebuilt my house the county re-assessed and quadrupled the original value and property taxes, so I sold it (my annual property taxes would have gone from $1800 a year to almost $8000) so I sold it. I feel like a fortunate one because the real estate prices dropped a couple years later and people in my position couldn't sell their houses.

[macoob2003]

The house I grew up in burned to the ground. My parents live down the old grade & their house was spared. Many friends lost their homes. All of them agree that they would gladly lose 10 homes to loosing 1 family member. My aunt lived outside Barona on an old homestead and did not make it out. I think about her every time I see a flame. She was taken from her daughter, granddaughter and my uncle way too early.

[MrMrsheine]

This video was amazing. My grandpa lost his house in crest during this fire and still hasn't rebuilt yet. It's amazing looking at everything that was going on. We were all out of town and got stuck in el centro. We just knew that he lost everything when the phone stopped ringing.