LAKESIDE, Calif. (KGTV) - Days after the Coches Fire, one woman shares how quickly flames roared toward her home.
"I ran outside to get my garden hose to try to, and I saw on the back of my house big flames, and I tried watering," said Sharon Martin, describing the emotional scene of trying to save her home after the Coches Fire.
She said a sheriff who was nearby saved her life.
"I said, I need to go inside and get my phone and purse, he says you can't go in your house, it's burning up," said Martin. "And he practically pulled me away. He saved my life, actually. I would have gone in."
The blaze began just before 3 p.m. near Interstate 8 and Los Coches Road and burned just over five acres. The fire destroyed six homes and damaged a seventh.
But the damage to Martin's life? Devastating as Martin was dropped from her home insurance last year. She said she also reached out to the California Fair Plan but never received a response.
For now, her only income is social security as she deals with her own health issues.
"Two months ago, before this happened, I fell on my driveway and broke my wrist and had surgery, and I came home for a couple days," Martin said. "My daughter and granddaughter, who were in the house, called 9/11 cause I was acting strange. They couldn't arouse me. And I was diagnosed with a mini-stroke."
Martin is saying goodbye to the place she called home for more than a decade.
"It's devastating to go in the house and see what's there," said Martin. "There's nothing there. Nothing salvageable. It's very, very difficult. I've been here 15 years."
Martin's granddaughter started a GoFundMe page to help with expenses. Click here for the page.
