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'We just don't want to die in a fire up here' | Fallbrook residents say closed road leaves them with only one way out

A road that connects to Highway 76 has been closed for over a year due to storm damage.

FALLBROOK, Calif. — People living near the "Garden Fire" that broke out Friday in Fallbrook say it was a terrifying reminder how unsafe the area is, because they only had one way out.

"The fire came up fast and furious up these hills," said Fallbrook resident Susie Pusch. "Look at all the dry vegetation."

The fire scorched 48 acres and forced many people to leave their homes.

Sage Road, a secondary exit that connects residents to Highway 76, has been closed for over a year following damage from last year’s rain.

"We just don't want to die in a fire up here, and having an extra exit makes it really accessible for us to get out, as opposed to being trapped," Pusch said. "And we live in the number one highest fire rated by Cal Fire area."

Pusch and her husband live on Sumac Road.

It's the only way in and out of the neighborhood.

Because Sage Road is within a Private Road Division, repairs have to be paid for using funds collected each year from homeowners.

But they don't have enough money, nor do they have enough signatures on a petition needed to approve a county loan.

"We're short on funds, so we needed a 60% of all of our neighbors to sign it, and this half signed it, like if this was split in half, we would have the signatures, but it's the people that live a mile or two miles up that are in our PRD," Pusch said. "They don't quite get that we're neighbors and that we're going to get trapped. They don't. They care about their exit only."

To make matters worse, there's a water pipe project underway putting more heavy vehicles and added stress on their only useable road.

Just one day before the fire, a piece of equipment got stuck for 30 minutes, leaving neighbors stranded with nowhere to go.

"I have neighbors that were trying to get to doctor's appointments, pick kids up from school, and they were literally trapped, and some of them were having panic attacks, like they didn't know how to get out," Pusch said. "You know, it's just all these moving parts that can come to a big disaster if someone doesn't step in. Take care of it."

If neighbors don’t agree to a fix, Pusch is hoping the county will help get the road repaired as soon as possible.

CBS 8 reached out to a county spokesperson, the San Diego County Water Authority as well as Supervisor Jim Desmond's office, all of which were closed because of Veteran’s Day.

CBS 8 will follow up and provide details when they become available.

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