Beth Byle knew the second she saw the Sandy Fire steadily growing near her home that she needed to leave immediately.
The beginning of her week was marked by an urgent rush to leave her Simi Valley property with her beloved Amazon parrot Bella in tow. Byle’s quick decision to vacate her neighborhood kept her and Bella safe since, unfortunately, the blaze destroyed the home she’s had for nearly 40 years.
“My husband called,” Byle, who was working from home at the time, said. “He had gotten notification from our Ring app that there was a fire nearby, so he wanted me to go check outside to see where it was.”
Byle said when she went outside, she saw flames on the other side of a nearby ridge. She watched as the fire grew right before her eyes.
“While I was watching that, I noticed that there were sparks starting new fires down the hill,” she said. “The wind went from 10 miles an hour to (what seemed like) 100 miles an hour in no time. So on the phone with him, I said ‘This is it. It’s time to go. I’m getting Bella, I’m getting out of here.’”
Byle left immediately and then learned that her home did not survive the fire. She said she’s lived there since 1987 and plans to rebuild once she and her husband are given clearance to do so.
“We’ve had so much outpouring of love from the neighbors. I’m going to get emotional,” a teary-eyed Byle told NBC Los Angeles. “Everybody’s been wonderful. We’ve had several offers of rooming with people, but we have insurance. We’re fine.”