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Trainer saved horses and neighbor during Lilac Fire

Calvario lost all his belongings that day...
Posted at 6:37 PM, Dec 15, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-15 21:37:45-05

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Cell phone video from last Thursday shows the craziness as flames from the Lilac Fire raced through the stables at San Luis Rey Downs.

Trainer Manny Calvario was in the midst of it, freeing horses and pulling his neighbor, Martine Bellocq, out of a burning stall.

"You can see nothing! I meet her right. I heard her screaming and I ran right into it," Calvario said. "I couldn't see. So I grabbed her; only carried her like a few feet away from all that smoke was."

RELATED: Woman badly burned in Lilac Fire trying to rescue horses emerges from coma

She was rushed to a hospital; while Calvario went back to saving horses - about 40 of them.

"At that moment, I didn't care about the fire; if the roof fell on me; I just want to get them safe," Calvario said.   

Calvario spoke to Martine's husband this morning.

RELATED: Horse groom explains viral video of rescue during North San Diego County's Lilac Fire

"He says she's doing great; slowly coming back and now she's able to hear people," said Calvario.

The trainer has all his horses back but his personal belongings are gone. He lived at the stables and everything he owned burned.

"I lost everything. Even my passport," Calvario said.

RELATED: Bonsall neighbors protected neighborhood from Lilac Fire

People have been generous, though, with donations on a GoFundMe page set up to help him.

"[I'd] like to thank everybody. They are great people," Calvario said.