Trailers destroyed at Royal Pines Trailer Park by falling tree, residents displaced

During the first night of last week’s high winds, trees destroyed trailers at two local Trailer Parks, Idyllwild and Royal Pines. In Royal Pines a large tree broke in half and crushed three units. The residents escaped uninjured, although one man’s dog was killed.

Barry Spencer was among those who lost their homes on the night of Tuesday, January 7. Spencer, 83, has been a Royal Pines resident for over nine years, but first came to Idyllwild in 1958 when his parents bought a cabin on Strawberry Creek.

“I was already in bed, it was between 9:30 and 10:00. There was a horrible crash and the sound of breaking glass and metal coming down the hallway towards my bedroom. There was a door in the bedroom that allowed me to get out. The Fire department was here. One of my neighbors said, ‘you have to get out, we could have a fire.’ The tree knocked out an electrical line that feeds several trailers there could be a fire.”

Barry was able to go across the street to the unit of a nice couple who allowed him to spend the night on their couch. He is now staying in the trailer of a friend who winters in Palm Springs. “I’m very fortunate to have this place. There were two very cold nights, but now it will be much nicer.” He was able to get his laptop out of the trailer, but everything else, including the charger and his clothes, is inaccessible. Friday, he went downtown and bought a new coat and hat. “The old ones are under a ton of wood.”

Spencer confirmed that he and the other two Royal Pines households displaced by the tree were interviewed on Thursday by the Red Cross at Town Hall. “They gave us debit cards and said we are going to have a case worker get in touch with us. They also said they could assist if we need legal help.

Spencer doesn’t know what is next. “It’s unknown. I don’t know if I’ll have to be responsible for getting the trailer and debris out.” He said that the same thing happened to a friend across the street, and he will now have to ask him how negotiations went with the company that manages the park, PAMA. An analysis by KPCC/LA called the company one of the largest landlords in the state. The management of Royal Pines has not yet responded to a request for comment at the time this story went to press.

Spencer said he has insurance with the California Fair Plan and will be talking to his agent soon. His paperwork, of course, is still in the inaccessible trailer.

Meanwhile, neighbors pull together. “One neighbor has been making dinner for us. During the power outage, another with a generator set up a charging station.” A whole line of trailers are still without power.

This is not Spencer’s first loss. In 1971 his home in Eagle Rock was destroyed by the Sylmar earthquake. He was able to rebuild.

Lyndall Bowers has been at Royal Pines since 2017. She lived with her daughter, Paige Dobson, and Paige’s son Oliver, who is 11, in the trailer next to Spencer’s. Bowers described their interrupted bedtime ritual. “We were just getting into bed, the wind had really kicked up, we were hoping to calm down and get some sleep. No sooner were we talking about his when there was a big boom, it felt like an explosion. We figured it was probably a tree; we didn’t know at that moment. We’ve had smaller branches fall on the roof, even they feel loud, even the squirrels running on the roof are pretty loud, like a little drum. This was very large drumstick.

Bowers and her grandson were at one end of the trailer, Dobson at the other. The tree had cut the trailer in half. She went to her bedroom door. “It was open, there was lots of debris. It was pitch black, but you could see a little light from outside, everything was dead silent. I could feel something directly in front of me. I learned later it was a tree trunk across my path. Our path was closed off down our hallway.” There was a little space under the tree. “We were able to climb through to get to the other part of the house.”

Bowers and her grandson still had no contact with Dobson. “I called out for my daughter. I couldn’t hear anything, it was silent.” The tree branches seemed to muffle her voice. “I said ‘let’s go back to the bedroom.’ We crawled back through the hall. I said, ‘let’s go through the window,’ because there was no other exit. ‘We’ve got to find your mom.’ I opened the window and just as I opened it, I heard her call out. ‘Are you OK?’ ‘We’re OK, are you OK. We yelled back and forth.” Dobson had gotten outside the trailer through a window. “She apparently was crawling though debris to get to my window. I handed her Oliver with a blanket and some clothes. She said she would take him to the neighbors for safety. “Neighbors had called IFPD. Firefighters arrived and helped her mother out the window.

The family is staying with “friends who are like family” in Fern Valley. “They have a generator, and a little suite we have to ourselves. They are so kind to be putting us up right now.” Bowers said the Red Cross has “a lot of services, some are beneficial, some I have help with already. Were just thankful that nobody got hurt. Amazing and a blessing, and we’re glad to be together and alive.”