The Airport Fire, which burned thousands of acres across Orange and Riverside counties, has been fully contained, but the damage left behind is taking an emotional toll on residents.
Johanna Browne lost her beloved home during the fire and recently returned to the property for the first time since the massive blaze. Her treasured, historic cabin tucked deep in Holy Jim Canyon in the Cleveland National Forest meant a lot to Browne.
She had planned to live out her retirement there, so seeing it in ashes was heartbreaking.
“I’m still feeling numb and confused,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking, it’s heart-wrenching.”
Browne is now left with only rubble and ash after the Airport Fire charred more than 23,000 acres. Her cabin, which she had owned since the ’70s, was one of more than half a dozen that burned in the blaze.
“I left on Sunday evening, or Sunday afternoon, to go swimming at the community pool, and stayed the night. The next day, I received phone calls from neighbors that the cabins were burning,” she recalled.