SEE GALLERY OF THE LILAC FIRE INSIDE
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Chris Lindahl Special to Village News
BONSALL – The death toll for horses at the San Luis Rey Downs Training Center affected by the Lilac Fire reached 46, according to California Horse Racing Board officials. Officials have determined that the horses perished when the blaze tore through equine country in Bonsall and heavily damaged the San Luis Rey Downs Training Center, where as many as 495 horses can be stabled. Among the horses killed was multiple stakes-winner California Diamond. The 3-year-old gelding owned by Rockingham Ranch had five wins and five second-place finishes in 14 starts, earning more than $475,000 in his career. California Diamond’s wins included the Santa Anita Juvenile Stakes, Barretts Juvenile Stakes, Speakeasy Stakes and Golden State Juvenile Stakes, all in 2016. The tragedy has prompted an outpouring of donations at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and other smaller facilities, where volunteers assisted horses and their trainers displaced by the fire. Some missing horses have not been located. “What we believe is a small number of horses escaped from a trampled-down fence to the hills,”
see EQUINE, page A-10
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December 14, 2017
San Luis Rey Downs equine death toll from Lilac Fire at 46
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Volume 21, Issue 49
Fast-moving Lilac Fire leaves destruction in wake
Fallbrook Public Utility District approves water rate increase Alex Groves agroves@reedermedia.com
North County firefighters work at battling flames behind the movie theater at River Village Plaza during the Lilac Fire in Bonsall Dec. 7. Tom Ferrall tferrall@reedermedia.com The Lilac Fire, which started late morning Dec. 7 as small brush fire on the side of Southbound I-15 just south of Highway 76 and quickly turned into a firestorm that would scorch 4,100 acres, left more than 100 families in Fallbrook and Bonsall homeless and with lives turned upside down. Fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds, the fire spread so quickly many people left their homes with only the clothes they were wearing. The fire left the Rancho Monserate Country Club, where more than 60 manufactured homes
burned, looking like a war zone. “Some people’s past has probably been burned up because the fire was too fast for them to take very much out of their homes,” said San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn while addressing a crowd at a special Town Hall meeting in Fallbrook Dec. 9, “and their present is a mess and chaos and we want to help them with that.” The Lilac Fire forced more than 10,000 people to evacuate their homes the day it erupted. While most evacuees went to stay with family and friends, more than 900 people stayed at American Red Cross shelters
Shane Gibson photos
set up in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Escondido, San Marcos and El Cajon. All evacuation orders had been lifted by 4 p.m. Dec. 10 with the exception of the areas suffering the heaviest losses – Rancho Monserate Country Club and the area between 5200 Olive Hill Rd. and 5800 Olive Hill Rd., where many homes and structures were destroyed. According to a report issued by Cal Fire San Diego the morning of Dec. 12, the Lilac Fire was 92 percent contained. The report listed 157 structures as being
see FIRE, page A-8
The Fallbrook Public Utility District Monday, Dec. 11, voted to increase water rates by 6.5 percent for the 2018 calendar year following a busy meeting where residents packed nearly every chair. The board voted 4-1, with Director Milt Davies dissenting, to approve the rate increase. They also approved a schedule of maximum price increases over the next five years. F P U D ’s A c t i n g G e n e r a l Manager, Jack Bebee, said that the board was only voting to increase rates for the 2018 year and that future rates for each subsequent year will also have to be voted on. He said the rates listed within the board-approved schedule function as a cap. They represent the maximum rate increase the board can vote for without having to send another letter to the public. In a letter sent out earlier this year, the board anticipated an 8 percent increase in water rates for 2018 based on the estimated cost of receiving water from the San Diego County Water Authority, but Bebee explained that using established water rates rather than estimated ones as well as implementing some cost saving measures allowed the district to propose the lower rate of 6.5 percent for this year. About a dozen people spoke during the public comment session for the agenda item and all of them either expressed concern or opposition to the project. To read the full story, see the Dec. 21 edition of Village News or visit www.villagenews.com.
Supervisors waive permit fees for rebuilding of structures lost or damaged by Lilac Fire
Village News
USPS Residential Customer
Firefighters work to put out a structure fire along West Lilac Road in Bonsall during the Lilac Fire Dec. 7.
Walking through the devastation the Lilac Fire left at Rancho Monserate Country Club, a firefighter is ready to douse any hot spots he finds there Dec. 8.
SAN DIEGO – The County Board of Supervisors Monday, Dec. 11, voted to waive permit fees for the rebuilding of more than 200 structures that have been destroyed or damaged in the Lilac Fire. The board also extended an emergency declaration in relation to the fire. The waiver of plan review and permit fees could save residents and businesses thousands of dollars as they begin the task of rebuilding. For example, the county typically charges at least $4,200 for the review and permitting of a 2,000-square-feet house, according to a fee table. The waivers apply to structures within the fire’s perimeter in unincorporated areas and any other areas in which county approval is needed. “Our deepest sympathies go out to the residents of our county who have lost everything this holiday season,” Director of Emergency Services Holly Crawford said. Several resources are available to people navigating the recovery and rebuilding process. Residents can visit a local assistance center that has been set up at the Vista branch of the county library at 700 Eucalyptus Ave. It is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Residents may also visit www. sdcountyrecovery.com or call (858) 495-5200.