Family loses their home of 50 years and vows to rebuild it

Elvia and Norm Bauer left their Las Posas Estates home early.

The mountain fire was burning near Somis when Elvia received a warning from a forest fire app on Wednesday morning. Her daughter, who lived a few miles away, also received one and messaged her mother to make sure she knew.

Their mother had already decided that they would go just in case.

About an hour later, the fire would spread to Highway 118 near Camarillo Heights. From there, the flames would race through neighborhoods, including the farmer’s, in the hills above Camarillo, engulfing homes.

But Elvia, 67, grabbed her passports, medication and documents, knowing only that there was a chance the fire could be coming her way. Norm, 84, is blind and the couple knew this could extend the time they might not have during an evacuation. So they left.

By afternoon, the Norm house, built in 1974, had disappeared.

“They both lost everything,” Erika Bauer said of her parents.

She is one of three children who grew up there, moved out, but never really left. Her parents always hosted the birthdays, holidays and all kinds of gatherings.

“I know the house can be rebuilt,” Erika said. “But all our memories are there. All our pictures. Everything.”

On their street – Cerro Crest Drive – residents say more than half of the homes were destroyed by the fire. Only nine remained standing, a neighbor said.

Rich Lindenmeyer credited firefighters with saving his home and the others still there. He returned home Wednesday evening to try to put out any fires.

Two houses on the corner next to his own had already disappeared. In the darkness, flames from open gas pipes illuminated their burned-out frames. Lindenmeyer had repeatedly dipped a bucket into his ash-filled pool as he worked to extinguish smoldering debris.

Susan Doria and her husband live just up the street. They were preparing for a funeral when the smoke and orange glow made them switch gears.

They grabbed their passports, some jewelry and their dog and drove their RV down the hill to a Target parking lot. They thought it might be a false alarm and that they would be heading home soon.

About an hour later, dozens of cars filled with evacuees filled empty parking spaces nearby. Firefighters went door to door to make sure everyone got out, Doria said.

After the fire broke out, their house, where they had lived for 35 years, was still standing. But the street, where block parties were common and neighbors had a sort of telephone tree to watch out for each other, was destroyed.

“Maybe we don’t fully understand it yet,” Doria said, adding how grateful she was that everyone survived.

On Thursday, the Bauer family drove back to Cerro Crest, passing one mass of burned debris after another. They had heard about their home from neighbors, seen photos and watched news clips.

“I guess we just had to see,” Erika said.

She grabbed her sister and her mother as they stood outside her childhood bedroom. They held on to each other through tears.

Things that remained intact seemed almost random – a shower wall that was still upright; a mug with the words “I love you, Mom” clearly visible.

They later forced their way into her sister’s house. Her parents seemed fine, Erika said.

“This doesn’t just affect us. A lot of people lost houses,” she said.

She hopes they can find strength together.

As of Monday, fire officials estimated the number at nearly 200 buildings destroyed, but the count has not yet been completed.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “But what else can you do? They have no choice but to move on.”

Cheri Carlson covers environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach them at [email protected] or 805-437-0260.