The Vasquez family evacuated from their log home off Highway 2 in Wrightwood, Calif., just 30 minutes before it was engulfed in flames by the Bridge Fire.
In the late afternoon of Sept. 10, the Bridge Fire crossed the highway and approached the Vasquez family’s property.
Novel Carter-Vasquez recalled, “The sky turned red that afternoon, and we could see flames approaching Highway 2 on the other side of the street from our home. Our phones were sending out evacuation alerts, sirens were screaming from the highway, and emergency personnel could be heard over loudspeakers urging people to evacuate. We packed our RV with what we could, but the battery was dead. At first, we couldn’t find jumper cables, but then my sister Kitty remembered she had some in her car. My husband Armand jump-started the RV, and we left with our 16-year-old son Keyon, my sister, and my elderly mother.”
Within 30 minutes, the fire crossed the highway, engulfing the Vasquez family’s 4,000-square-foot cabin and burning it to the ground.
The family was directed to a Red Cross shelter in Victorville, where they parked their RV and stayed for five days. “The welcome we received was incredible,” Novel said. “We were served three meals a day, and both Kitty and I received $3,000 in emergency cash aid, which helped ease the loss of our home and belongings.”
A group of Chinese refugees, who had fled religious persecution and were grateful to the United States for taking them in, donated six cases of water and a large quantity of packaged food to the Vasquez family.
After five days, the family’s insurance company relocated them to a hotel in Ontario, Calif.
Novel expressed gratitude to the firefighters who saved the town of Wrightwood, including her sister’s travel trailer, which was uninsured and had been purchased only three weeks earlier. “If they hadn’t saved her trailer, my sister would have no place to live,” she said. Firefighters also saved the Holistic Health Day Spa, where Novel provided services to her clients.
Novel also thanked the Wrightwood community. “When we went to Mountain Hardware for supplies to secure our property, they wouldn’t let us pay for a single thing, including a chainsaw,” she said. Susie’s Qloset in Wrightwood offered the family free clothing, and Bear With Us Lodging helped with donations and security for their property.
Novel has long contributed to her community, volunteering with the Lions Club, Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce, Wrightwood Elementary, the Lodging Association, and the High Desert Homeless Shelter. She was also named Wrightwood’s honorary mayor in 2018.
“I feel like I gave my all to Wrightwood, and the community loved me back when I needed it most—with phone calls, donations, and shoulders to cry on,” she said.
Novel reminisced about the home, a wedding gift from her husband in 2001. Originally from New Jersey, she moved to Wrightwood from Redondo Beach, while Armand had always been a California native. In 2005, she opened the Holistic Health Day Spa on the property, and later they turned their log cabin into a bed-and-breakfast. It featured three themed guest rooms upstairs—the Marlin Monroe Room, the Geronimo Room, and the Getaway Room, decorated with souvenirs from their travels around the world. The downstairs area included a spacious room with two beds, a kitchen, a snack bar, and a library/tearoom.
Running a bed-and-breakfast wasn’t always easy. “The hardest part was dealing with picky guests; we had to deliver A1 service, and it was tough to keep up,” Novel said. “We’d even get secret shoppers who would check for a speck of dust, which could affect our rating.” Still, they managed to charge $500 a night on sites like Airbnb.
Novel’s favorite guests, however, were hikers. “Hikers are not picky—they’re grateful for any amenities,” she said. “They didn’t mind sharing rooms or setting up tents out front. They just wanted a hot shower, a laundry service, a ride to the store, or a place to check their mail. We only charged them $30 per night, or sometimes just whatever they could afford.” Many stayed for days to rest, often without charge if they were injured.
“When I feel sad about the fire, I go back and read the comments from past visitors, and it reminds me of the good times we shared,” Novel said.
Now, Armand is ready to retire and hopes Novel will, too. The couple plans to rebuild a smaller weekend cabin on their land and may move to Los Angeles full time. “I never liked the idea of living in a fire zone, but I truly loved Wrightwood,” she said.
