Chloe Jeffrey and her fiancé were running their sandwich shop, ‘Simply Sandwiches’, in Oracle like normal on Wednesday afternoon, when their lives changed forever.
They had been concerned about the Cedar Fire and had loaded up a trailer with some of their belongings in case they needed to evacuate, but by Wednesday, their worries were gone.
“We went to work the next day (Wednesday), unhooked everything from our vehicles, didn’t have anything packed anymore and came to work,” Jeffrey said. “About 3 o’clock, we go outside and we’re like ‘oh my god, there’s another fire starting over there.”
That fire wasn’t the Cedar Fire, but rather theCody Fire. They quickly rushed to their home.
FULL COVERAGE | UPDATE: Cody Fire remains at 5% containment, more than 1,200 acres Friday morning
“We were able to get our dog as the flames were in our backyard and it was way too hot to even try to grab anything else,” she said.
She and her family of three had recently relocated to Oracle from Minnesota. They had just moved into their house on Valentine’s Day. It was a tiny house built on her dad’s property.
“And then we just sat down at the end of the road and we all watched it burn,” Jefferey said.
She explained it was like nothing she’s ever seen before.
“Like oh my God this is a dream, this isn’t real, I’m going to wake up and everything's going to be there,” she said.
She said crews tried to salvage the house.
“But the whole back half of it is burnt and everything is waterlogged,” she said. “You step on the floor and your foot goes through. Pretty much just have to bulldoze the thing over.”
Now, she’s left trying to process what happened.
“It’s probably one of the worst things that I’ve had happen – especially with like starting a new family and then this happens,” she said.
Jeffrey said her house hadn’t been insured yet. She said her dad has insurance, but doesn’t think her property will be covered.
During this devastating time, she said she and her family have been receiving an overwhelming amount of support from the community.
“I can’t believe these people,” she said. “I’ve never seen such big support ever in my life. It’s magical, I’d say.”
The couple’s restaurant, located at 1470 W American Ave. in Oracle, was open on Friday – with many people in the community stopping by and supporting.
