Carlsbad CA— One year after the Poinsettia Fire [original story here] burned through the heart of Carlsbad, most of the homes and buildings damaged or destroyed in the fire have been rebuilt and reoccupied, and others are within months of being completed.
The canyons that were blackened by 100-foot flames are turning green again, as shrubs regenerate and seeds that were asleep in the earth burst to life.
The fire began at 10:34 a.m. on May 14, 2014, on the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa golf course. Fanned by fierce Santa Ana winds and record low humidity, flames leaped across Poinsettia Lane and raced westward, and for the next 30 hours Carlsbad residents, emergency responders and businesses lived through a firestorm unprecedented in Carlsbad history. The fire ravaged the communities encircled by Palomar Airport Road to the north, El Camino Real to the east and Aviara Parkway to the south and west. Some 22,432 Carlsbad residents and businesses received evacuation notices, and many others left voluntarily to escape oncoming flames.

Carlsbad Fire Chief Mike Davis said that the fire tested the community and drew it closer together, as people responded by offering assistance to firefighters, police officers and others battling the disaster, and by reaching out to people who suffered losses in the fire.
When the fire was declared fully contained on May 18, it had burned 600 acres and destroyed or damaged 11 single-family residences. One 18-unit apartment building was destroyed and another was badly damaged, and both have been restored and are reoccupied. All but one of the residences destroyed or damaged in the fire have been rebuilt or are in the rebuilding process.
Sound, formerly Sound Eklin, a company that specializes in veterinary imaging and ultrasound technology, lost a building and much of its contents, but the company reopened soon after the fire in another location. One other badly damaged commercial building has been repaired, and a third commercial building that incurred minor damage was repaired shortly after the fire.
There were no deaths; a body found in the burn area was determined by the San Diego County Medical Examiner to have died of natural causes before the fire hit.
“We realize that the environment in which we live is going to throw us more curves. This time it was the Poinsettia Fire. In the past we’ve had the Harmony Grove Fire, the Cedar Fire, the Witch Creek Fire, and last year Cocos and Bernardo,” Davis said. “This happened, and now our community is even better prepared. We have residents more engaged in prevention, people with evacuation plans, people signed up for AlertSanDiego. It’s given us as a community a focus in terms of preparedness.”
The community stepped up and helped each other during the fire. The city set up a camp for firefighters who arrived from about 70 different agencies at the Safety Training Center, and residents and local businesses donated tons of supplies. The local business community and residents contributed to neighbors who suffered losses through the Ready Carlsbad Business Alliance. Established by the city and Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, the alliance is designed to help businesses prepare for an emergency and to assist businesses and residents to recover after a disaster. When the fire struck, City of Carlsbad Housing & Neighborhood Services Director Debbie Fountain teamed with Ready Carlsbad to assist people affected by the fire.
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