Why they stayed

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Scripps Ranch:

Jean Boyce’s back fence and shrubbery, including a eucalyptus tree, burned in the 2003 Cedar fire. So she and her husband moved in with her in-laws in San Diego when the order came Monday to evacuate her home on Loire Avenue in Scripps Ranch.

“I put my good china and silverware in the Jacuzzi and left. I shoved some important papers in three or four bags and took that with me,” said Boyce, who returned Tuesday. “We came real close to losing our house four years ago. My husband and I weren’t going to take any chances.”

Boyce’s neighbors on either side did not leave, even though the evacuation order was mandatory. One of the neighbors, who asked not to be identified, said a group of teenagers saved her house in 2003 by spraying the burning roof with a garden hose.

“The last time we left we were locked out for four days. It was terrible not knowing if our house was still standing,” the neighbor said. “This time we decided to stay. If it was just our fence burning we could put it out. But we knew that if the fire was as bad as in 2003 we would have to leave.”

Paul Devincenzo’s house, at the corner of Loire Avenue and Loire Court, was one of two houses burned to the ground in 2003. On Monday, he and his wife did not waste any time leaving .

But he was ambivalent. They moved into another residence he owns in San Diego and returned Tuesday afternoon.

“In 2003, we saw our house burning on television. Every other house was standing but ours and one house around the corner on Loire Court,” Devincenzo said. “This time we evacuated with mixed feelings. You know the danger of staying behind, but you also want to stay and do something to save your house.”

-- H.G. Reza