VIDEO: Silver Fire Survivors Recall Leaving as Flames Approached

People who escaped the Silver Fire in Poppet Flats and Twin Pines on Aug. 7 recalled their experiences Tuesday and described leaving their homes as flames approached.

Ron Wielin evacuated Aug. 7 with his wife and daughter before any evacuation announcements were made in his neighborhood off Ellis Drive.

"I didn't even see the fire," Wielin said Aug. 13. "My daughter Rebecca was coming home from Beaumont and she saw the fire and alerted us. Otherwise I was fixing my refrigerator and I wouldn't have known it until it was on top of us. So she basically saved us.

"We had about 15 minutes before we had to leave," Wielin said. "So we gathered up as much as we could. One of the neighbors from the house over here, Kym's house, drove one of our vehicles because we didn't have enough people to get the vehicles out.

"And then we headed up the hill," Wielin said. "We stayed with some friends that were evacuated from the Idyllwild fire and they stayed with us, so they asked us to stay at their home in Idyllwild for a couple of days.

"And then recently the insurance company set us up in the Holiday Inn in Beaumont, Oak Valley Parkway, nice place to stay, they've got everything, so we're doing pretty good.

"The insurance company's here right now, taking care of us, and you know we're the fortunate ones. I feel sorry for my neighbors and we're for them. My excavator works still, so I'm happy to help anybody up here that needs some help."

Several homes in and near his immediate neighborhood burned to the ground.

"I know that this house is gone, Kym's house behind me, and I know Jerry's house is gone, Darlene down the hill, and there's another Dave around the corner lost his place, and some other ones off Keyes."

With Highway 243 still closed for repairs on the slope down to Banning, the only paved route down the mountain for Twin Pines and Poppet Flats residents is through Idyllwild to State Route 74 and Hemet.

"It's kind of hard getting up and down here," Wielin said. "We're having to take the old Banning road because they're making repairs to the fencing. But by not being able to take that road you're forced to go on a dirt road that has no fencing at all. Very dangerous.

"So it would be nice if they would open it up," Wielin said. "It's almost an hour to go all the way around so a lot of people are just taking the old Banning dirt road to get up here."

On the afternoon of Aug. 7, Wielin said when he first saw the fire coming his way he checked five minutes later and saw "it was really bad. Made sure the neighbors got out of the house because the kids were here and mom was down the hill, just wanted to make sure nobody was left here.

"No. It was getting bad fast and the wind was blowing from the west. My wife got into it as far as getting out of here or picking up stuff, and then my daughter told us to knock it off. But we got out of here."

The Wielin family's home survived but some outbuildings burned and Ron Wielin, a certified home inspector, estimated he lost $50,000 in property.

To view Banning-Beaumont Patch video of Rebecca Wielin as she evacuated click here.

'It was just a real terrifying thing this time'

John and Betty West have lived in Twin Pines 25 years. Their home survived the Esperanza Fire that killed five members of U.S. Forest Service Engine 57 on Gorgonio View, and it still stands after the Silver Fire.

"This one was a lot scarier than the Esperanza," Betty West said. "This was moving very fast. All of a sudden we knew we had to evacuate, and the next thing we knew our bank was on fire, and everything was rush, rush, rush.

"Some gentleman from the fire department, I'm not sure which one, helped load all the animals for me, took care of us, got him out of here safely, we left, and it was just a real terrifying thing this time."

The firefighter helped the Wests with their dogs, cats and birds, John West said.

"Thank God we still have our house, our home," Betty West said. "We have some damage but not as bad as a lot of people have, so we've been lucky again. We've been twice blessed."

The Esperanza Fire burned about 50 feet of wood fence on the Wests' half-acre property, John West said.

"We had more loss this time," Betty West said. "We lost a lot of outbuildings, and tools, and we're just trying to remember everything that we had. . . . But we love it up here, so we'll stay."

More on the Silver Fire from Banning-Beaumont Patch:

VIDEO: State Law Enforcement Officers Warn Silver Fire Victims of Insurance Scams

Silver Fire Aftermath: Highway 243 Expected to Open This Weekend
SILVER FIRE UPDATE: Demobilization Begins as Costs Rise to More than $8.8 Million
SILVER FIRE UPDATE: Burn Area is 19,000 Acres, 70 Percent Contained, 11 Injured

Updated Interactive Map of Silver Fire Burn Area by Esri of Redlands

SILVER FIRE HELP: Victim Resources for Debris Clean-Up, Assistance Contacts

SILVER FIRE RECOVERY: In Devastated Poppet Flats Neighborhood, Pig Survives Blaze and Neighbors Pull Together

SILVER FIRE: How You Can Help Fire Victims With Clothing, Monetary Donations

SILVER FIRE UPDATE: Evacs Lifted in Some Communities, Fire Estimated at 17,500 Acres

SILVER FIRE BURN VICTIM: Man Was Found on Old Banning-Idyllwild Road

SILVER FIRE VIDEO: Poppet Flats Resident Returns to Home Burned to Ground

SILVER FIRE MAP: Interactive Public Info by Esri of Redlands

VIDEO: As Silver Fire Advances Evacuee Says 'We Decided to Leave on Our Own'

Inside the Silver Fire: Photos From Evacuated Areas in San Jacinto Mountains

Beaumont Unified School District Employee Loses Everything in Silver Fire

Silver Fire Evacuation Center, Fire Camp Set Up in Beaumont

Video, Pics: Silver Fire South of Banning

SILVER FIRE UPDATE: 26 Homes Destroyed, 6 Injuries to Date