Elderly couple survives California fires by jumping in pool

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Elderly couple survives California fires by jumping in pool

WNDU 16 news center
October 29, 2003

Bob Daly stands under an orange smoke filled sky by the pool that saved his life
Bob Daly stands under an orange smoke filled sky by the pool that saved his life

The tally of devastation in California is astounding. The fires have destroyed Over 2,000 homes and 600,000 acres of land. The damage is estimated at $2 billion so far.

The stories of survival and heroism sometimes get lost in all the numbers. Stories of these survivors however, give us hope and some bright light through the hazy images of southern California .

Bob Daly, a California resident and one of the survivors tells us his story. Mr. Daly and his wife escaped death by jumping in their swimming pool and waiting it out under water.

“We started down, maybe 50 yards and that fire started moving. Course I’m guessing, it seemed like it was moving 30 to 40 miles an hour and it was airborne. It was just moving and it was up in the sky. It’s unbelievable how fast and the flames were higher than those trees. So I said, frankly, no way, so we came back up and jumped in the pool," said Daly.

"We used this board to float the wife's purse and as the flames came this way, we moved around that way and we got all the way in that corner, then the flames and debris were right in here," he continued.

"I had a hat on and I just do like that (bats hat on knee) and put it back on but she's got a full head of hair and I said dunk, so she'd put her head under and come out. So then we went down to the road below and the flame had already gone over your heads and were down there," Daly said.

They made their way to a burned out area and found safety on scorched land. They barely made it and are still surprised that they are alive.

Bob Daly’s story is just one of the dramatic stories of survival out of the fiery terrain of southern California .