So you know who they are.
Kinda wondering why the steel didn't melt, but...
"Bodies Found in Fire Ruins by Searchers in California" by SOLOMON MOORE
HIGHLAND VALLEY, Calif., Oct. 25 — The fire came blowing in from the hills near here, carried by 80- to 90-mile-per-hour winds. It was 3 a.m. on Monday. Woodchip piles and cars burst into flame, and then the avocado groves and finally the houses.
Among them was the home of Chris Bain and Victoria Fox who lived on a hilltop at the end of a long winding road. The San Diego County authorities found them early Thursday, searching the property at the request of relatives. The house, in this unincorporated area near Poway, was destroyed; burned-out husks of several cars were at the entrance.
They were the second and third people identified by the authorities as having died in the wildfires that have raced across Southern California since Sunday, but have somewhat amazingly claimed relatively few lives. Late Thursday, Border Patrol agents were reported to have found the bodies of four unidentified immigrants believed to have been killed after crossing the Mexican border.
Neighbors here said Mr. Bain and Ms. Fox were found near their garage and speculated that they might have been trying to get out. The house was among a half dozen or so that burned along the same ridge.
John Snow, 68, has lived nearby for 40 years. He said he had been through many fires, but never one this bad. When he saw the hillside glowing through the smoke, he and his wife went to their truck.
Mr. Snow: “We were driving through fire for two miles.”
He said he had seen the hillside where Mr. Bain and Mrs. Fox lived, but had assumed that everyone had left.
Several residents said they had no warning, just the sound of flames and smell of smoke. One resident recalled hearing a loudspeaker mounted on a truck announcing the approaching fire.
Later on Monday, a nephew of Ms. Fox called Mary Markle, 63, another longtime resident. He had not heard from his aunt and uncle, he said. They agreed that it would have been unlike Ms. Fox not to let friends and family know that the couple was safe.
Mrs. Markle, who befriended them 25 years ago, said the couple had been high school sweethearts who enjoyed line-dancing, piloting planes, skydiving and motorcycling. Ms. Fox, a public school teacher for 20 years taught line dancing at a nightclub in Poway, she said.
She said the couple were in their 50s and had a son in college.
This is SAD!
Ms. Fox was also the fifth woman in a weekly rotating bridge game. Cathy Beard, another neighbor, whose house was spared, said the women would also gather to discuss politics.
Ms. Beard: “We were about 60-40 Republican and Democrat. We had some very heated arguments about Iraq, President Bush, religion. But we were all very close.”
[ But, but, but HE'S a UNITER!!!!
A COMPASSIONATE Commander-in-Chief!
Who nevertheless PLAYS POLITICS with the BLAME! ]
Mr. Bain was more of a loner, neighbors said, and an avid gun collector who bought and sold antique and rare firearms on eBay. He was also a real estate agent, and several neighbors mentioned that he slept with an oxygen pump running.
Bill Thompson, who lives on an avocado orchard nearby, stayed behind to douse his house with water and said the Bain house was one of the first to go:
“I just thought they got out like everybody else.”
Neighbors caring for neighbors, huh?
Good thing you don't hate yours, like most of AmeriKa!
