Victims of The Bond Fire

Recently the Bond in Orange County California fire had Burned just shy of 7,500 acres, 31 structures destroyed. Over a dozen homeowners lost their homes and most if not all of their possessions.

And what started it?

According to the information I received, which the fire dept has yet to confirm . The the day the fire started, Edison Electric had shut off the power in the area at 6:00 pm due to high wind concerns and power lines. At 1:00 am Sheriff's deputies were banging on peoples doors telling them to run. At that time 30ft flames were surrounding structures. Many had barely enough time to run out the door to escape. A few days later it was confirmed all was lost . In the area of the Bond fire, cellphone reception is typically not available. Fire easily destroys landline communication lines, making it not possible to even call neighbors to warn them.

From what I have heard the Bond fire cause was a home that had an electrical generator inside the home, with Propane tanks nearby. Something caught fire, propane tanks explode, resulting in start of the Bond fire. I asked how many people died in the home that exploded. I was told no one. I questioned that. I would have expected someone to at least be injured. Some people suspect there was no one in the house with the generator running. ??? Who does that?

I am now reporting on one of the victims of this tragedy. Remember there are 12 more all with their own stories.

Meet Pam and Tony. They volunteer at the plant research station in Irvine, They have been volunteers helping many others in the past. Now they are the ones in need.

Their home was built in 1916, survived most disasters from Floods to Fires to Earthquakes. They had 30 animals only 2 survived. Their retirement home is now a pile of ashes. They lost everything they owned except for the clothes they were wearing when running out of the home surrounded in flames. While they had insurance, the reality comes on what insurance does not cover. Typically caps on various things.

Home destroyed. And not even recommended to search through the ashes to recover anything possibly remaining due to toxicity of the ashes.

Costs to look at when rebuilding ( there are more than this):

Disposal of the ashes of the old home. The ashes would be considered toxic since an older home probably would have had many coats of lead paint before it was outlawed. possibly something containing asbestos before that was outlawed. Any Florescent light bulbs all contain Mercury. Homeowner is responsible for hazardous waste disposal . which is billed by the pound.

Building permits, environment impact study's, soil tests to make sure ground is stable enough to have a home on , even though a home was there for over 100 years. None of this is free.

Getting plans for building a new home. Also, when completed, will the county want more in tax dollars every year? Probably

Multiple year lodging while the land is cleared till home is actually rebuilt. I doubt insurance covers the costs involved.

Other things lost - starts at drivers license, passport, birth certificate, social security card. Then everything else.

Lost forever, all mementos of life. Notes from friends, contact information for friends. It is hard to imagine how many people you cannot contact when you no longer have anyone's contact information.

Partial list of Things gone,

All Furniture - Beds , couches,, tables, chairs, bookcases, storage .....

Appliances - Tvs , stove, stereo, refrigerator, washer , dryer, microwave...

food, spices, cleaning products, storage containers, things in kitchen, bathroom, other areas not food related

clothing, All gone, only cloths / shoes / slippers worn running from home.

linens, dishware, cookware, tools, electronic devices, computers, telephone, jewelry, decorations, art, books, movies , music, things related to hobby's....

Imagine if everything in your home disappeared. The costs to replace it all add up fast. More than most can imagine.

Vehicle -

Pets - beloved friends gone - no price can be attributed to them.

You can get an idea of what is to come. .

Typically in cases like this, the victims incur substantial losses even with insurance. Initially there is some assistance, that disappears after TV news stops broadcasting about it.

Tony's Daughter has setup a donation page for people wanting to assist them . It is located at https://www.gofundme.com/f/27p...

All monies are going towards helping these people get their life back. Which will never be the same. At least this can help make less things to worry about.

Non of the victims deserve what happened to them .