More than 100 hardworking families in Lake Elsinore found life even harder after the devastating, fast-moving Airport Fire swept down from Cleveland National Forest into their El Cariso Village, leaving their homes either burned to the ground or damaged on September 10 and 11.
Airport fire victim Samuel Santos from El Cariso Village, waiting for his family's turn for help at the Lakeland Village Community Center on Sept. 21, described his family's dilemma as the fire approached his home and property.
“The fire was from about here to there,” he said, pointing just outside the doorway of the center about 100 feet away as they struggled to leave their home. Fortunately, it was stopped as it grew closer, and h
