Across the street, Bill and Sandra Young couldn’t help but stare in shock at what was left of their homes of nearly 40 years.
"We had three sets of bunk beds," Sandra reminisced of raising six kids at 305 Santa Ynez Avenue in Paso Robles.
The flames sparked shortly after 2:15 p.m. Thursday and in a matter of minutes, the home was gutted from end to end.
Sandra was alerted of the fire and woke her husband Bill, a veteran, who had laid down for nap.
"It’s just weird to think that everything is gone," she said. "All of our decorations and stuff we had stored for the holidays, we like to decorate the house so at least everyone is okay. We all got out alright and no body else is hurt so that’s good."
It is unclear what caused the fire. Sandra herself didn’t know, but remembers seeing it roar from outside to the house within seconds.
Multiple agencies, as many as nine engines, responded to the blaze that drew billowing clouds of smoke high into the air.
Flames, embers, and smoke caused damage to adjacent homes as crews worked to knock down the raging blaze. But it could have turned much more dire without the response from fire crews already stretched thin by wildfires burning across the state.
"Obviously mutual aid resources are critical right now throughout the county and the state and to be able to mitigate," said Scott Hallett, Paso Robles Fire Dept. Battalion Chief. "Without the resources we had, this could have been much worse."
Hallett praised firefighters for their hard work during these dog days of summer.
It took hours for hot spots to be extinguished. A ruptured gas line and burned power line also needed to be repaired.
The Young family is in contact with Red Cross. The home is insured.
For now, it will be one day at a time, holding on to the memories made in a home that is now destroyed.
