Orange County Register

A moving story from one charred neighborhood, from Register reporter Doug Irving:

Shaun Becsi, 46, walked along Big Horn Mountain Road in Yorba Linda, making note of the homes that had burned to the ground and the homes that had survived. Then he got out his cell phone.

“So far, they’re holding their ground,” he told one fortunate neighbor. But of eight calls he made late Saturday night, five were to deliver bad news.

Becsi lives a few streets down from Big Horn Mountain Road, which bore the brunt of a fire that raged up a hillside early Saturday. He decided not to evacuate and, late Saturday, went to check on the homes of friends and to rescue any animals that had been left behind.

He collected two dogs and one cat. And he told five families that their homes had burned to the ground.

“It’s a horrible situation,” he said. “But I think it’s better to let them know what’s going on, instead of having them wonder.”

As he was leaving, another couple drove into the neighborhood, also checking on a house for a friend. They flagged down a battalion commander, who told them the news.

“It’s gone? Completely?” Medhu Hingorany asked. “Oh my God.”

“At least we know,” her husband, Prem, said.

Like Becsi, they live a few streets from where the fire did the most damage. They had evacuated nonetheless Saturday morning, and described seeing black smoke boil through the Santa Ana River bed as they fled.

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