ANTIOCH — Neighbors have banded together to raise money on behalf of a woman who was burned out of her home and whose dog is missing after a weekend three-alarm fire.
The fire, which started Saturday afternoon on Deer Hill Lane off Deer Valley Road, spread quickly, sending two people to a local hospital for smoke inhalation, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District inspector Steve Aubert said.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, a GoFundMe account for Antioch resident Leita Stevens, has raised $7,840, surpassing its initial $5,000 goal. That account, spearheaded by members of the Diablo Rod & Gun Club, is visible at https://www.gofundme.com/help-leita-stevens-house-fire.
In a comment on the account, Stevens, who serves as the club’s sergeant at arms, expressed her gratitude.
“I am so overwhelmed by all of you! Words cannot express my gratitude,” Stevens wrote in a fund update.
“I’m still searching for my border collie, Shadow, who was seen by two firefighters heading away from the fire and up into the hills. The house and everything in it is gone, but the priceless lives in my charge are safe.”
About 75 firefighters from the California Department of Forestry, East Contra Costa and East Bay Regional Parks fire departments joined Antioch police officers and Pacific Gas & Electric crews in the response.
High-wind and low-humidity conditions related to the weekend’s “red flag warning” kept firefighters in the area until midday Sunday to monitor flare-ups, Aubert said.
A total of four homes, a number of outbuildings and more than 50 vehicles with equipment burned across 10 acres, but no estimate of monetary damages was available Tuesday.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.