RAMONA: For Sandy Bruehling, backcountry lifestyle worth facing fire danger

By TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | Saturday, October 18, 2008 2:08 PM PDT ∞

Editor's note: Ramona has been in the path of the two deadliest wildfires to hit the county in the last five years. Meet two families unbowed by the 2003 and 2007 blazes and find out why they stayed.

RAMONA ---- The scenery around Sandy Bruehling's home is lush and relaxing. In fire season, when the green turns to brittle brown fire fuel, it is frightening.

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The 2003 Cedar fire destroyed her back deck and flirted with her home. But Bruehling isn't concerned enough to sell the place, even though she "watched the fire come over the hill in a ribbon."

"There is nothing as scary as standing here," she said of watching the fire creep up her property in a horseshoe, whipped by winds and fueled by brush. "When those embers come, I can't describe the fear."

Still, Bruehling's answer is quick and simple when asked if the fires made her think about selling her home:

"Nope."

"They (wildfires) don't chase most people out," she said, sitting on her back patio, looking out at the now-concrete deck ---- it had once been redwood ---- by her pool. "Fires are a way of life."

Open space and a small town just mean too much to the 66-year-old real estate broker and ---- coincidentally ---- risk management specialist who moved to San Diego Country Estates from Burbank in 1990.

"I love it up here," she said. "I don't have to put up with the crazies. At night, all I hear are the coyotes and the owls and the crickets.

"I like to go out in my jammies and feed my horses and no one cares."

And, she pointed out, the property taxes on a new purchase "down the hill" ---- a colloquialism referring to the more urban and lower-lying areas outside of Ramona ---- would be too expensive.

That, and "you get more property for your money up here," keep her staying put in a home boasting porcelain tiles, a small horse corral and a seasonal creek not far from her back fence.

In 2003, the Cedar fire raced through the Country Estates region of Ramona, which saw about two dozen homes go up in flames.

By the time firefighters stamped out the flames, 15 people were dead and more than 2,200 homes were destroyed.

On this October Monday, as the fifth anniversary of the Cedar fire approached, the wind whipped the dry, hot air into a frenzy. Grim-faced weather forecasters had warned of high fire danger.

But Bruehling is not letting the fire threat dictate her housing choices.

"Think about it," Bruehling said. "The fires also (threatened) Del Mar. No place in Southern California is immune."

Three days later, she sat on the back patio of her home with neighbor Dawn Short. The winds were calmer, and the birds chirped in the trees surrounding the half-acre property. They spoke of the serenity of rural life, their slice of sanctuary.

And they spoke of fire danger.

"It's not like we haven't thought about it," Short said.

They said they learned from the Cedar fire. And they are prepared, mentally, for the next one.

Waving her hand out toward her lush property, Bruehling shrugged.

"If it burns, well ..." she began, trailing off.

Stone finished her neighbor's thought.

"If it burns, we will start over."

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 740-5442 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.