A Yolo County wildfire destroyed one home. Its residents seek help
It wasn’t love at first sight when Robin “Robbie” Bullock first moved to Dunnigan as a teenager, but through the decades the 70-year-old grew fond of his community.
“I’m from the Bay Area,” he said. When he first moved to Dunnigan, there were “no lights at all. Everything was pitch dark. You couldn’t see anything in front of you.”
Bullock briefly left Dunnigan when he grew up, he said, but returned to the Yolo County community for a slower pace and a greater sense of safety. He built his own home in the mid-1980s, even including a swimming pool to get through the hot summer months, which was one of his initial frustrations.
On Monday, he lost his home to the Campers Fire, a wildfire along Interstate 5 that spanned nearly 17 acres. About 300 personnel from more than 15 agencies worked to combat the fire, according to previous Sacramento Bee reporting.
“It was scary,” said Bullock, who turns 71 later this month.
Bullock and his roommates, his brother and their caretaker, were told to leave the house shortly before 2 p.m. Monday, Bullock said. When he came back to his home, he was met with debris.
“The roof burned and what was hanging over fell down to the ground,” his niece Kimberly Matthis said.
Two cats also lived at the house, he said. Max was found shortly after the fire, but Cali has not yet been found. The two cats stayed at the house but also roamed outside to help with the rats.
“When the rats smell them cats and stuff, they won’t come in,” Bullock said. “But without them cats, the rats will run all over your house.”
Bullock has a big family with eight siblings and a family tree that has expanded to his great nieces and nephews, he said. The 70-year-old would often host family gatherings at his Dunnigan home, taking advantage of the swimming pool and playing games like Monopoly and dominos.
Dominos is one of Bullock’s favorites, he said, as he enjoys winning and slamming the domino on the table when he knows he’ll score big.
“I like winning and talking smack,” he said.
Despite the setback, Bullock is confident he’ll play dominos at home once again. He said he plans to rebuild on the same lot, taking advantage of the situation to design an open-concept kitchen that looks out to the living room.
“With a big island in the kitchen,” he said.
Bullock’s home had a kitchen separated from the living room, which he said wasn’t ideal for large family gatherings.
Matthis is helping Bullock get situated after the fire. She said her uncle will stay at a hotel for a few weeks while they look for a place for him to stay during the rebuild process. Meanwhile, her other uncle is staying at the hospital for an infection unrelated to the fire.
She organized a GoFundMe page to help Bullock rebuild his life. As of Saturday morning, about $3,800 had been donated. She said she hopes to raise up to $20,000.
