On October 30th, George Boyles and his wife, Lucilia, both living in retirement and living a rural life at the top of a hill and the end of a road in rural Aguanga, were enjoying each other’s company when the winds and fire came suddenly.

At the start, George Boyles said, “It was easy, calm, no hustle and bustle.” However, he soon realized it may have been more severe than he presumed. However, he still kept his mindset positive as he said, “It seemed far enough away, we’re thinking 4 miles . . . We kept an eye on it, and little by little, as the wind started changing, it was blowing it up, and pretty soon we saw darker smoke, and then we saw flames coming over the ridges.”

As the fire got bigger, George still believed that the situation was in control and not much to worry about, saying that he had seen helicopters dropping water, leading him to believe they were out of danger and the fire was almost out. But then George says, “And then winds picked up. I said, ‘Ulp, we need to start packing up.'”

The couple then began grabbing what they could, like “clothes and paperwork, loaded the dogs and let the cats and chickens,” as said by the press enterprise. The fire continued growing and coming closer to the point where it made it over the hill, and objects near the house, like cardboard and trashcans, began bursting into flames. Out of instinct or panic, George decides to attempt to put out the fire with a garden hose, but that does not last long due to the burning plastic that seems to give off “a toxic smoke,” which makes George halt his actions.

As the fire got closer and closer to their house, their garage lit up in flames first. The fire was also “fed by oxygen tanks he uses in his welding.” (pressenterprise.com) 

At this point, the fire had just gotten worse, and the couple planned on driving out of the area as fast as they could. Soon, they realized that their street was covered in flames from both sides, making the situation much more complicated. Luckily, this couple planned to make a drive-out area covered in dirt, allowing them to escape unscathed. George later stated, “When you live out here, you have to think ahead and have something just in case,” and, “That’s why I had a safe area.”

About “20 minutes” after they escaped this firestorm, it was said that they met with a firefighter, and once the fire was put out, George and Lucilia Boyles could return safely. 

The couple then said they intend to rebuild their property now that it is completely burnt down, but they do not know if it will be possible.

The Boyles stated, “It’s a nice place, country life. Out of our front window, we can see Wildomar. It’s a nice view,” Boyles said. “We’ll figure it out from here.”