Some of the improvements include an asphalt driveway in front of the house, concrete slab on the sides, and a pool area in the back separate the house from fruit trees and grassy areas, creating a defensible space.

The 2,800-square-foot home, which is solar-powered, has a stucco exterior and a Class A fire-resistant (clay tile) roof. They bought the home three years after it was built and have done many improvements over the years to make it safer.

The Constables have lived in their home in Poway for almost 30 years. They were successful in keeping it from all of the homes on their street. Ken, his sons, friends, and some men in the neighborhood helped firefighters combat the fire as much as they could. Ken decided to stay and was awakened in the middle of the night by one of his neighbors, warning him that the fire had reached the west and south side of his property. By that night, they could see the fire coming over the hills, so Bonnie took the dogs and left to stay with her mother in the southern section of Poway. The Constables received the reverse 911 call to evacuate the morning of October 22 before the fire had reached their area. The Witch Fire followed almost the same ravaging path taken by the Cedar Fire in 2003 according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The fire burned 197,990 acres, destroying more than 1,000 residential structures and 509 outbuildings. The Witch Fire, also known as the Witch Creek Fire, originated in the Witch Creek Canyon near Santa Ysabel and threatened many communities in central San Diego County. “We never thought we’d get a fire this close,” said Bonnie Constable, “We are very thankful we still have a home.” Remarkably, their home was spared, and even though they lost a well house, a water tank, and many trees, there were no major damages to the house itself.

POWAY, CA - Ken and Bonnie Constable will never forget the terror they experienced the morning of October 23, 2007, when a wind driven wildfire came up to their front yard.

Witchfire instal