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Yahoo!This is a description of Lance and Carla Hoffman's escape from the November Tea Fire. Now that they have been able to share it with us, I'm letting you know, as promised.
Lance and Carla's first hint of the fire was seeing, from their window, a huge orange glow over the hillside. They had no idea that the fire had already burned past them. Expecting to evacuate safely in their car, which was 300 yards away, the nearest parking area, they found themselves running through the fire. They were burned despite efforts to avoid the flames as much as possible.
They intended to drive straight to the hospital. When they got to Sycamore Canyon Road, their usual route to town, they found traffic was being redirected, but rather than follow that detour they drove west on Stanwood Drive and turned in to Fire Station 7 for help. With Providence, there was still one engine in the station. The firefighters immediately wrapped them both, applied cold water, gave oxygen, called an ambulance, and notified Cottage hospital to be ready for their serious burn patients.
The hospital physicians were able to intubate Lance and Carla in time, before their breathing airways would have irreversibly swollen shut.
Helicopters airlifted them to the UCI Regional Burn Center where the rest of their lifesaving treatments began. Two months later, on January 14, they have been discharged together, and are beginning the rest of their recovery in Orange County where specialists can continue treatments. Lance and Carla anxiously await the time when they can return to their lives and a home in Santa Barbara.
In the meantime, the Lance and Carla Burn Fund, with all the donations and fundraisers that have been so generously provided, is a tremendous comfort. Now that their medical issues are a matter of their most thorough recovery and quality of life, rather than life and death, the availability of the funds is essential and deeply appreciated. Lance and Carla, and we their family, are intensely grateful beyond words for all that the community has done to make this possible. The love and comfort of friends and strangers has made a world of difference to us all! — Linda Hoffman
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