“I was woken up at a quarter to 4 a.m. by my dogs, I opened my trailer door and I saw the fire."
Karen Harrington said Angelina and her husband had been living in that trailer for about a year and a half. She is still processing the tragedy she was awakened to more than a week ago.
According to the San Diego Sherriff’s Department, deputies and fire crews from Ramona’s substation and Cal Fire responded to a fire on the 18000 Block of Cinnamon Rock Road. When crews arrived, they found a mobile trailer engulfed in flames.
“The wheels, the refrigerator, stove, everything burned down,” Fernando Escarcega, Angelina’s stepfather said.
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Harrington said as soon as she saw the fire she went to see what was happening.
“I came up the road, and a detective met me, and I could see the trailer burning, and at that point, I didn’t know she was in there,” she said.
Angelina was 40-years-old. She is survived by her husband, parents, and brother. Angelina’s family describes her as an intelligent and compassionate woman with a big heart for others.
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“She had that gift of making people feel really welcomed into the space and loved and understood,” her mother, Mia Escarcega said.
Her family said she was a landscaper by career, and she enjoyed spending time outdoors.
“Every iota of nature was in her spirit. So I would say just nature, just hiking. Um, that was her love,” Escarcega said.
“Right from the minute I met her, I knew she was amazing, with such a vibrant personality, and she was so knowledgeable about plants, and indigenous things, she was just a lot of fun to be around,” Harrington said.
They also told NBC 7 she loved helping disadvantage youth discover their potential.
“I have so many memories of her and they're just, she's, she's inspiring me,” her mother said.
The Sheriff’s Department continues investigating what started the fire and the cause of her death. Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact crime stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
Angelina’s family will hold a celebration of life ceremony on December 7th.
