A fire Friday afternoon destroyed an accessory dwelling unit in Old Encinitas, leaving its 72-year-old tenant stunned at the loss of her home of nearly three decades.
The one-and-a-half alarm blaze broke out shortly before 12:50 p.m. inside of the granny flat off of La Mesa Avenue near the intersection of Marcheta Street.
Fire crews responded quickly to the incident, knocking down most of the flames within 20 minutes.
Five fire engines and a number of sheriff’s deputies responded to the blaze, which also knocked down several power lines in the alley at the rear of the unit, Encinitas Fire Battalion Chief Robert Ford said.
“We’ve got a call out to SDG&E because downed power lines are always a hazard,” Ford said.
Neighbors flooded onto the street at the sight of black smoke billowing from the unit and said that fire crews responded swiftly and aggressively to put the fire out.
Carole Siegel, who has lived in the unit for nearly 30 years, said she was taking care of a friend’s vacation rental nearby when she heard the sirens and saw fire crews heading towards her street.
“I just got a strange feeling, so I followed them and when I got here, people were telling me that it was my house,” said Siegel, who rents the unit from her best friends. “I’ll be fine, you know it’s just picking up the pieces.”
“Fortunately, I have a good support system, so I’ll be fine,” Siegel said. “It’s just a lot to digest.”
More photos of the fire below:
