IN THEIR OWN WORDS
GEORGE & SUE POPTSIS
“I hit my hoe through a pile of bricks. And as they fell over, I saw this little box.” After Sue and George Poptsis fled their Malibu Park home, Sue realized she’d left her wedding ring. Searching through the rubble days later, George made a miraculous discovery. As told to Malibu Magazine
S
UE: At 6 o’clock on Friday morning one of my son’s friends called. “You guys better get out of the house,” he said. “It’s coming.” So I got up, loaded my cats and birds in their carriers, and packed a small suitcase. Just a few clothes, like I was going away for a couple days. I said to George, “OK, I’m leaving.” He said, ‘OK, I’m ready.” I said, “What do you mean? Let’s get out of here.” But he’d decided he was staying. GEORGE: After Sue left, my neighbor Mark Bates came up. We decided we would prepare our houses, just do our thing. If we saw flames over Horizon Dr. then we would reassess. I was at Mark’s house when my son, Chris, who’s a firefighter, called me. He said, “Dad, you’ve got to get out of there.” I said, “I’m fine.” Then his supervisor gets on. “Mr. Poptsis,” he said. “You must leave.” I go, if it gets ugly, I’ll leave. But it was still manageable at that point. SUE: When I got to George’s sister’s house, the first words out of her mouth were: “Did you get your jewelry?” I hadn’t. I’d just grabbed my animals and a few clothes. And then I remembered, I’d left my wedding ring at the house. GEORGE: For a while there, after Mark and I had prepared, it was kind of nervous energy. We were at Mark’s, just waiting for the fire to come. It was eerily quiet. Then,
MIRACLE While almost everything else burnt, Sue’s wedding ring survived.
MALIBU PARK The Poptsis’ home was one of hundreds lost.
suddenly, we see flames on Horizon Dr. Immediately the temperature went up 30 degrees, and the wind started blowing in this circular motion, maxking noises like a tornado. I said to Mark, “I think we’ve got to get out of here.” I ran back to my house, and in my backyard there was an 80 foot wall of fire. And it was coming right at me. Right then I knew this is beyond reality. This is something I’ve never seen before. I jumped in my car, and as I drove off, the whole mountain from Busch Dr. to
Philip Ave. just lit up. Like spontaneous combustion. Like a volcano. Mark and I drove around Malibu Park for a while. The flames kept following us. Eventually we met up with my son Chris, who said we had to leave. So around 5 p.m. we headed to my sister’s. Sue and I got back the next day, Saturday. I couldn’t believe what I saw. Our house was gone. Our neighborhood was just decimated. It was like a warzone. SUE: I wanted to look for my wedding ring, but that day it wasn’t safe. GEORGE: I got back three days later, and started sifting through rubble in the corner where I knew Sue kept her jewelry, where our bathroom used to be. But there was nothing. Eventually I found one Tiffany box where I knew Sue had a necklace. When I opened it, dust poured out. For an hour, I searched, but found nothing. Frustrated, I just hit my hoe through a pile of bricks. And as they fell over, I see this little box. I opened it, and there was Sue’s wedding ring. Somehow, it was still somewhat intact. SUE: George sent me a picture of my ring and I immediately started crying. That was the first time since the fire. You kind of have to turn off that part of your brain, when you’re in it. You’re just trying to get through the day, trying to figure out where you’re going to live. So to me that was a miracle. Like a message from God, that there was still hope and to keep moving. MM
MALIBU MAGAZINE
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