The only home lost to flames

The only home lost in the fire belonged to Brad Wilson and his family. The 1933 beach bungalow where they lived for 2 1/2 years was located in an area called Quail Canyon. It was owned by the Santa Catalina Island Company, one of the primary tour operators on the island.

Wilson is the chief marketing officer for the company. He and his wife and two children, their dog and two geckos were evacuated Thursday afternoon; they spent the night at a friend's house.

"We grabbed what we thought was important," Wilson said. "In hindsight, we would have taken a lot more. It's so surreal, it's really tough to expect that to happen. This is such an idyllic community."

He said they grabbed photos, passports, tax information and "not near enough clothes."

"I'm sure this will work out. This is a close-knit community."

-Amanda Covarrubias

Comments

[Edward Padgett]

Amanda,

Thank you and the other Times writers for the timely and heart moving information, we can only imagine what it feels like to lose everything that’s dear too us.