Dangerous Deja Vu: Vacaville Brush Fire An Emotional Reminder Of LNU Complex Fire
VACAVILLE (CBS13) - A brush fire in Vacaville Tuesday brought back horrible memories for a neighborhood that was impacted by last year's LNU Complex fire.
For the second year in a row, residents along a stretch of Pleasants Valley Road in Vacaville were told they needed to leave their homes as a fire was edging dangerously close to properties. Now, homeowners say they are coming up with ways to take this fire fight into their own hands.
The brush fire was just on the brink of Bob and Valerie Nelson's property.
"You can see the plume of smoke," said Valerie Nelson.
The Solano County Sheriff's Office immediately issued evacuation orders on a two-mile stretch of their street just west of the Solano County line. It was a scarring reminder.
"This was closer," Valerie Nelson said of Tuesday's fire.
Last year, they had to evacuate due to the Hennessey Fire, which later became part of the larger LNU Complex fire. The burn scars left behind show how the flames surrounded their property. The fire destroyed dozens of trees and a barn which kept irreplaceable keepsakes.
"This is our palm tree that I'd say is 80 feet tall and it was scorched," said Nelson.
Last year some of their neighbors lost everything, now the community is creating a fire safety council.
"We have to look out for each other," Nelson said.
The plan is to meet monthly, exchange information, and fundraise to buy equipment in case another brush fire like this grows even bigger and closer to these homes.
"We're not going to wait for someone to take care of it for us, we will do it ourselves," said Nelson.
Cal Fire says it's still investigating what started Tuesday morning's fire.
It spread to 30 acres but no buildings were destroyed, and no injuries were reported.