In the Smoke and Flames, Their Flags Still Flew

Two American flags survived the major brush fire that was dying down Thursday after it swept through the Elizabeth Lake and Green Valley areas Wednesday and forced the evacuation of at least 1,500 residents.

One flag belonged to Velma Majors. Along with porcelain figures handmade by her mother, it was among the few possessions she retrieved from the rubble of the house the Majors family rented on San Francisquito Canyon Road south of Elizabeth Lake, an isolated mountain community of 2,500.

About half a mile away, Don and Mary Simpson also had a story to tell about a flag. But it had a happier ending, one more than a bit reminiscent of the “Star Spangled Banner.”

One House Burned

The Majors’ home was the only house to burn in the fire--a surprise to residents who surveyed charred hillsides and ruined lawns Thursday and said they had expected much worse. At its height Wednesday afternoon, the blaze sent up a fast-moving column of smoke and flames that blotted out the sun over Elizabeth Lake and had people predicting wholesale loss of property.

An effective response by firefighters and some help from the winds, which diminished Wednesday after reaching 45 miles an hour, prevented more damage, residents and officials said.

Majors said she and her family moved to the rented home four years ago from Redondo Beach as part of a growing number of transplanted residents to the area who endure long commuting trips to Los Angeles because they cherish the seclusion and beauty of the mountains.

“We moved to get away from the hustle-bustle,” Majors said. Of the fire, she said, “It comes with the territory. Just like earthquakes come with Southern California.”

Firefighters tried to save the Majors’ home, officials said. But they were forced to back off by the intensity of the fire, which was fed by overhanging trees and heavy brush around the property.

Helped by relatives and interrupted periodically by reporters and camera crews, Velma Majors sifted through what was left of her home. She pointed to a hill where the family recently held an outdoor wedding ceremony for her son and daughter-in-law in full Renaissance costume.

Pictures Saved

“No more Renaissance weddings, I guess,” she said. “I just wish I had been able to grab some of the pictures of the house.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Majors said, she saw the orange glow of the fire in her picture window, then heard sheriff’s deputies directing evacuations over their patrol car loudspeakers. The family bundled up her infant grandson and headed for safety ahead of the smoke.

Arrayed on the blackened ground in front of Majors on Thursday were porcelain Nativity figures--Madonna, infant Jesus, angels--made by her mother. Majors said she was surprised that they were unscathed. She rubbed soot off them. “She does the most beautiful work,” Majors said, her head down.

Among the other possessions Majors and her family found unscathed was their flag. But the gloomy mood did not prevent the family from cracking jokes about their evident patriotism amid a national furor over flag-burning.

Hasty Departure

Like the Majors family, Don Simpson said he and his wife, Mary, wasted no time Wednesday as the blaze advanced on their home on the southeastern edge of Elizabeth Lake. They grabbed a family photo album, piled into their car and fled to an open area along with neighbors.

“One fella was pulling out in his antique car he wanted to save,” Don Simpson said. “Other folks were rounding up their animals and their children.”

The Simpsons also expected the worst.

“I couldn’t figure out how it could still be standing,” Mary Simpson said Thursday of the family home. Helicopters rumbled overhead toward the scene of lingering fires. The Simpsons have lived in Elizabeth Lake since 1966. Although the immediate community had not experienced a major fire since the 1950s, the Simpsons said they have seen the devastation left by fires in nearby areas.

No Rubble

When they returned home Wednesday evening, however, there was no smoldering rubble. The garden and most of the greenery on the 5-acre property had burned. Flames had damaged a shed by a water storage tank and come to within 10 feet from the house. But the house was intact.

“The Fire Department saved my house, that’s for sure,” Mary Simpson said.

Simpson said he had not given up hope. He flies an American flag on a tall pole in front of his property. And from the open area where he and his wife sought refuge, he thought he could occasionally catch glimpses of the flag through breaks in the smoke.

“Once in a while I could see it,” he said. “Then, there was a clearing period and I thought I could see the roof of the house. And then I thought it’s probably going to make it.”

RELATED STORY: Part I, Page 3