Idyllwild Fire Captain, Alan Lott, inspects the damage Sunday afternoon.

Fire totally destroyed a home on Village View Dr. before sunrise Easter morning. Idyllwilld Fire Captain James Reyes was the incident commander. He the loss was total and the neighbor saved the occupant’s life, Reyes added.

Idyllwild Fire Fighter, Vincent Gibby, battles the blaze from below early Sunday morning.

At approximately 2:30 a.m. Paul Colucci was awakened when his neighbor, Robert Peek came to his door. Colucci's house was halfway engulfed in flames when Peek and Judi Way noticed a glowing outside.

Just before the roof and deck caved in from the heat and flames, the skeleton of the structure was still visible.

Idyllwild Fire and multiple Riverside County Fire crews arrived on scene quickly. The blaze grew at an astonishing rate. The house quickly and fully engulfed in flames as well as the surrounding trees by the time emergency personnel arrived on scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Thanks to Peek, Colucci escaped the incident unscathed.

Paul Colucci watches helplessly has his entire home, as well as his belongings, goes up in smoke Sunday morning

Photos by Jenny Kirchner