Hoxie family protects their home, help neighbors Meanwhile, a new baby makes his way into the world

In the aftermath of the Fallbrook Rice Canyon Fire, families are returning home with stories, experiences and memories to last a lifetime. One such group is the Hoxie family, whose home is on Ridge Drive.

On Monday afternoon as fires moved closer to their home, Gary and Brenda Hoxie sent their three daughters, Annetta, Tamera and Charissa, and 2-year-old granddaughter Sara up to Temecula. Tamera, nine months pregnant, was unable to get to Escondido, where her doctor was located.

With their daughters and granddaughter safely out of harm’s way, Gary, Brenda, Brenda’s sister, Lisa, and Tamera’s husband, Charles Deatherage, stayed at their property, preparing it against fire as best they could.

Around 11:45 p.m., as the fire began closing in, they evacuated. As the caravan began to move away from the impending fire, Gary Hoxie was last in line.

“While traveling from Live Oak to Mission Road, the smoke was so thick that you couldn’t see,” he said. “My wife, sister-in-law and son-in-law were in front of me when all of a sudden, out of a gully to the left of me, a wall of flames 40 to 50 feet high came straight over the motor home. The heat was so intense all I could do was turn my head from the heat and drive straight through.”

Later that evening, after arriving at Lake Skinner in Temecula, Hoxie was surprised to find that his motor home had virtually no damage to the exterior; his canopy did receive minor damage.

The following day, Hoxie returned to Fallbrook to check the condition of his home. There he met up with his neighbor, who was currently watering down his home and property. Hoxie and the neighbor turned both their hoses on another home next to theirs whose guesthouse was engulfed in flames.

Several hours later, exhausted and tired, Hoxie had just finished securing his home when, after turning a corner around his house, he encountered two men walking toward him. Both wore surgical gloves, carried a pipe and had large plastic garbage bags in their back pockets. They seemed taken aback when they saw Hoxie.

“I asked them what they were doing there,” Hoxie said. “Both seemed surprised to see me and stumbled around with explanations. Then one of them asked who I was. I told them that I was the owner and to get off my property. They moved away pretty quick. In my opinion, they looked and acted like they were looters.”

After arriving back in Temecula, another surprise awaited Hoxie. Tamera had gone into labor. As getting to Escondido was impossible, they took her to Rancho Springs Hospital. At 11:57 p.m. Tamera, gave birth to eight-pound, 15-ounce Gage Deatherage. Both mother and son are doing fine.

The Hoxie family stayed at Lake Skinner until Saturday afternoon. Upon their return home, they saw large numbers of law enforcement officers patrolling the area.

The Hoxies were fortunate that their home and property remained untouched by the fires. They welcomed a healthy new family member to their household and greeted neighbors. Neighbor Mike Shannon, whose house Hoxie watered down, came over to thank him for “saving his home.”

“I told him all I did was put a garden hose over his home with another neighbor,” Hoxie said. “We just wanted to wet it down in case the fire made it to the main house.”

When Shannon tore into a soaking wet wall, he discovered the interior had fire damage. Hoxie was surprised to learn that, apparently, the home was on fire when he and the other neighbor watered it down, thus dousing the fire before it could destroy the building.