Dentist Jeff Knutzen was in between procedures at his Carlsbad office when his assistant came to him shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 14.
"She said, 'Doc, I see smoke in the canyon,'" Knutzen said. "I looked outside, saw how tall the flames were and I knew that it was coming right at us."
Earlier that morning, Knutzen and his employees had been looking at the smoke from the fires at Camp Pendleton. But they could never foresee that the hot weather and Santa Ana winds would soon whip up a fire outside their office.
With no time to spare, Knutzen and his staff, nearly all of his nine employees were at work, urged patients to leave the building immediately and then evacuated the office themselves, heading to the nearby Dove Library for a head count. There was no time to pull hard drives or equipment. They could feel the heat of the flames as they got in their cars and drove away.
The Poinsettia fire, one of numerous fires that buffeted North County, would rage on for four days before it was fully contained.
Authorities believed it claimed one life, firefighters found a badly burned body in a transient encampment.
According to the City of Carlsbad, the fire caused an estimated $12 million in damage. It destroyed five homes, 18 apartment units and one commercial building. Four other homes and Knutzen's office sustained major damage and 22 residences had minor damage.
In those first hours, after sending his employees home, Knutzen stayed in the area, heading east as the fire moved west, trying to figure out whether his office of nearly 7 years was still standing.
At first he was optimistic. The building appeared fine, except for some slightly melted roof tiles. But when he finally got inside two days later, he saw that the fire had torn through the roof and burned through the building, essentially a total loss of all of the tenant improvements Knutzen made to the building as well as his dental equipment. "Everything starts spinning," Knutzen said. "How are you going to rebuild? What are my employees going to do for jobs?"
His mind immediately turned toward finding a spot to relocate, said Knutzen a week later, as crews stripped damaged drywall from the inside of the office.
He quickly came to a solution. Dr. Gary Braunstein of Carlsbad Dental Care, whose office is about a mile north at the Bressi Ranch Medical Plaza, offered to let him rent his office Tuesdays through Fridays. This allows Knutzen to continue serving his existing patients as he works to reopen his office.
"He has two offices and only uses that office part time, so it's a win-win," Knutzen said. The temporary office is located at 6221 Metropolitan St., Suite 102.
Knutzen added that the response from his fellow dentists was overwhelming. He got calls from dentists from far away as Mira Mesa offering him a temporary place to keep his business going.
Knutzen said rebuilding will last two to three months and cost him about $500,000. He plans to restore the office to look exactly the way it was before the fire and bring in new equipment.
As for what other business owners can learn from his experience, Knutzen said it's always good for companies to have a good evacuation plans. Another key is good insurance, he added.
"Make sure your insurance policy covers you well and covers your employees when they're out of work," he said. "You need a very comprehensive insurance plan."
Though he admits the process is daunting, Knutzen added that he's focusing on rebuilding and focusing on the positive.
"I have a great staff that is going to stick with me and will be helping me with the process," Knutzen said. "We're going to make it through."
"She said, 'Doc, I see smoke in the canyon,'" Knutzen said. "I looked outside, saw how tall the flames were and I knew that it was coming right at us."
Earlier that morning, Knutzen and his employees had been looking at the smoke from the fires at Camp Pendleton. But they could never foresee that the hot weather and Santa Ana winds would soon whip up a fire outside their office.
With no time to spare, Knutzen and his staff, nearly all of his nine employees were at work, urged patients to leave the building immediately and then evacuated the office themselves, heading to the nearby Dove Library for a head count. There was no time to pull hard drives or equipment. They could feel the heat of the flames as they got in their cars and drove away.
The Poinsettia fire, one of numerous fires that buffeted North County, would rage on for four days before it was fully contained.
Authorities believed it claimed one life, firefighters found a badly burned body in a transient encampment.
According to the City of Carlsbad, the fire caused an estimated $12 million in damage. It destroyed five homes, 18 apartment units and one commercial building. Four other homes and Knutzen's office sustained major damage and 22 residences had minor damage.
In those first hours, after sending his employees home, Knutzen stayed in the area, heading east as the fire moved west, trying to figure out whether his office of nearly 7 years was still standing.
At first he was optimistic. The building appeared fine, except for some slightly melted roof tiles. But when he finally got inside two days later, he saw that the fire had torn through the roof and burned through the building, essentially a total loss of all of the tenant improvements Knutzen made to the building as well as his dental equipment. "Everything starts spinning," Knutzen said. "How are you going to rebuild? What are my employees going to do for jobs?"
His mind immediately turned toward finding a spot to relocate, said Knutzen a week later, as crews stripped damaged drywall from the inside of the office.
He quickly came to a solution. Dr. Gary Braunstein of Carlsbad Dental Care, whose office is about a mile north at the Bressi Ranch Medical Plaza, offered to let him rent his office Tuesdays through Fridays. This allows Knutzen to continue serving his existing patients as he works to reopen his office.
"He has two offices and only uses that office part time, so it's a win-win," Knutzen said. The temporary office is located at 6221 Metropolitan St., Suite 102.
Knutzen added that the response from his fellow dentists was overwhelming. He got calls from dentists from far away as Mira Mesa offering him a temporary place to keep his business going.
Knutzen said rebuilding will last two to three months and cost him about $500,000. He plans to restore the office to look exactly the way it was before the fire and bring in new equipment.
As for what other business owners can learn from his experience, Knutzen said it's always good for companies to have a good evacuation plans. Another key is good insurance, he added.
"Make sure your insurance policy covers you well and covers your employees when they're out of work," he said. "You need a very comprehensive insurance plan."
Though he admits the process is daunting, Knutzen added that he's focusing on rebuilding and focusing on the positive.
"I have a great staff that is going to stick with me and will be helping me with the process," Knutzen said. "We're going to make it through."