Sandlewood Fire

Image from google maps: Fire started at red star.

The first major wildfire event happened in my area last week. The fire was named Sandalwood. It was named after one of the cross streets where the fire started. The other was 7th St. So, I'm assuming naming it 7th wasn't as appealing.  From the reports and videos I've seen online it appears that a trash truck was hauling a load of trash when the driver realized the truck was smoking. I'm sure he has been trained to find an open area and dump the trash so that the truck doesn't catch on fire. Those trucks are pretty darn expensive. In this case it was a tragic lapse in judgement, On a day when it was extremely dangerous to unload his truck that's exactly what happened with deadly results.
I watched the video of a motorist that was following the truck and I located the area where it pulled over by comparing google maps with the video. On the map above you can see a small outcropping next to the road. I marked it with a red star. That is where the truck pulled over and then dumped his burning load of trash. The mobile home park was due west of this location. The winds easily blew the flames across the dry grassy area below the mobile home park. The flames then went directly into the park. Out of roughly 100 structures in the mobile home park 76 were lost. Even more tragic two people lost their lives. It just shows the speed and ferocity of the flames that burned through the area.
The park was in a very isolated area and if the trash was dumped in a different location this fire may have been averted. There is only one entrance in and I'm assuming that's how everyone got out. Looking at the map it is very fortunate that more people didn't get stuck in the park. If the flames had burned a little more towards the north the entrance could have been blocked, and the residents would have had to drive through the flames to get out. 
I never considered what would happen if a trash truck caught on fire. How often does something like this actually happen? Why don't these trucks have some sort of fire suppression system on board? Why isn't there an alarm that notifies the driver sooner? Shouldn't they call the fire department before dumping? I'm sure all the things that went wrong that day will be reviewed and changes and policies for dumping trash will be changed. 
For now the residents Villa Calimesa mobile home park will have to start over. Hopefully, the residents have mobile home insurance. I imagine that almost all of them do because I'm sure the park requires home insurance. 
Mobile home insurance works slightly different from a homeowners policy. The dwelling coverage on a mobile home is based not on rebuilding but replacement. Some policies can insure a mobile to a actual cash value. That means an older home would get less money because as mobiles age they lose value. A better policy has replacement cost coverage. The replacement cost gives them money to buy a new home, not replace it with an old used model. The policies also cover loss of use. So, while they can't live in the park they would get money to rent a place while their home is being replaced. It also covers personal property. That means they can go out and start replacing their clothing and their belongings that were lost. Once again you want to have replacement cost, because that gives you new stuff for your old stuff. Not yard sale prices for your lost belongings. 
Fire season is always a little scary. You never know when or how a fire will start. You just need to be prepared in case you need to evacuate. If you are told to get out don't hesitate. Call your insurance company and if you need money to cover hotels or meals many policies will pay those expenses for you. If you need mobile home insurance I have three great companies. I'd be happy to review your limits. 951-395-0754
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