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Wildfire Aftermath: Progress for Some Others Remain Stalled
By Regina Elling
 | | Shirley Kimble lost her home in the 2007 wildfires. "My horses have been my sanity through all this," she says.
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Nearly four months after the Witch Creek fires of October 2007, much of Ramona has gotten "back to normal."
But those who lost their homes to the wildfires continue to deal with the aftermath. Trying to rebuild their damaged and destroyed homes, in many cases while their "regular" lives have been turned upside down, are just some of what the Witch Creek fire survivors deal with on a daily basis.
Ted and Jackie Bramer lost their home in the fires. While Ted left with a vehicle full of their possessions, Jackie stayed behind to watch over their four horses. While she stood in the middle of the horse corrals, soaking the scared animals with the hose, she was helpless to stop the flames from overtaking their home off of Pamo Road.
Now, less than four months later, they have a new manufactured home on the site.
"I think it makes things a lot easier to just get a manufactured home, rather than try and rebuild," Jackie says.
"There is still a lot of work to be done," she says. "But most of it should be completed in the next couple of weeks. Then it is a matter of the county inspection and a few other things before we can move in."
Until then, they are living with their daughter in Ramona.
"We are very happy with how things are going," she says. "I called the insurance company immediately, and our debris was gone in less than two weeks. And it looks like we will be in our new home very soon."
Meanwhile, Tony and Shelly Ivicevic just recently received the money for their home from their insurance company.
The couple was traveling out of state on their honeymoon when the fire overtook their home off Highway 78. The home was a complete loss.
Now living in Vista, the couple plans to eventually rebuild their Ramona home.
"It took more than three months to get our insurance money," says Tony. "But now
we are looking at house plans and trying to decide on a contractor. We really want to be back in Ramona."
Shirley Kimble lost her home in Rancho Santa Teresa to the fires, and has mixed feelings about her progress since that time.
"My insurance company has been very good to me, and I have a trailer on the property now, almost ready to be lived in," Kimble says. "But since the fires, I've had a very hard time making decisions, such as how I want to rebuild my home."
While struggling with her choices, Kimble is living with her mother in Del Cerro.
"Having to commute an hour each way every day is really hard," she says. "But my horses are still on the property, and they have been my sanity during all this."
Dean Mostad, who lives off of Black Canyon Road on Ladrido Lane, has also felt stalled since the wildfires. Although his primary residence was spared, he lost a rental home, his workshop and more than half of his work supplies.
"Since we were without power and phone service for more than a month, I lost a lot of work," says Mostad, who owns a hydroseed company. Owning 80 acres of land has been a hindrance and not a help in his choice of a new home site.
"I would like to rebuild a primary residence on a more appropriate spot on the property," he says. "I feel a fair amount of animosity toward the county right now. They have turned me down and left me with some options I don't want to take.
Mostad is currently discussing his case with an attorney specializing in land issues.
"I would like to get this resolved," he says. "Things are too complicated and I would really like to just move forward."
Over and over, those who have lost their homes state that they just want to get their lives "back to normal." Their daily life now includes dealing with insurance issues, county regulations and emotional and sometimes financial stress - all part of the new "normal" in the lives of the Witch Creek fire survivors.
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