SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As of Thursday evening, the Bunnie Fire in Ramona remains at 184 acres and is now 65% contained, per Cal Fire San Diego.
It broke out on Wednesday and threatened homes for several hours.
The community in Ramona says they are immensely grateful to the firefighters who protected their properties.
ABC 10News spoke with Mindy Sloan, an evacuee who had flames just feet from her home.
“I could hear the crackling of it and the wind was picking up,” she said.
Sloan says when she saw the fire approaching the ridge in her backyard, she immediately started packing up her precious items.
“This is when I’ll start getting emotional…this is when I’ll start thinking about what really matters to me,” she said, tearfully, showing 10News the boxes of photographs of her children she had grabbed.
“I care about my house but no…not like I care about this,” she said.
As she was about to evacuate, she said firefighters left her with some words of comfort: “The firefighter said to me, ‘I’m here to protect your house, ma’am.’”
And the firefighters did successfully protect her home and structures on her property.
“I was shocked and surprised,” she said.
Sloan urges families in fire-prone areas to have a plan in place and to take precautions.
“That’s the other message I got from this whole thing…is clear around your land. Do not have fuel for fires because if you think it can’t be you…it can be you.”
While the firefighters left Mindy with words of comfort on Wednesday, she was able to leave them with words of gratitude on Thursday before they headed out. She thanked them personally for their hard work.
“I wanted to know who they were because I wanted to say to them…you saved my house. And my memories.”
You can see the latest official updates on the Bunnie Fire HERE.
