Homebound Woman Killed When Mobile Home Burns

SUNLAND —  A woman who had been left homebound after a recent surgery died Friday morning when she was trapped inside a mobile home that caught fire, authorities said.

The woman, whose named was not released, was killed after flames engulfed her single-wide mobile home at Sunland Trailer Park about 9 a.m., authorities said.

“I heard crackling and popping, like someone was trying to pop tin cans,” neighbor Bill Flynn said. “Then I saw the flames, and immediately called 911.”

Flynn said he could hear windows bursting as flames shot out from the trailer. Several neighbors tried to get inside, but the intense heat and smoke kept them out.

“I just kick myself because I couldn’t get to her,” Flynn said.

Tray Hutchison, 18, jumped on the roof of his grandmother’s trailer, which was next door to the burning home, and sprayed the blaze with a water hose “right before it really got out of hand.”

Because older trailers are constructed of plywood, particle board and thin sheet metal, Hutchison said, “If they do ignite, they go up instantly.”

Hutchison said the victim was a smoker, but Brian Humphrey, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said the cause of the blaze was under investigation. It took only nine minutes for firefighters to extinguish the flames, Humphrey said.

Neighbors who knew the woman said she hasn’t worked for some time because of back problems, and she recently had surgery. She had difficulty moving around, so her husband took care of her, they said.

The couple had lived at the trailer park for more than 10 years, manager Larry Ekman said. Neighbors described her as a hard-working man who watched out for his wife’s medical needs.

“Before she got sick, she would walk up and down the street as happy as can be,” Flynn said. “She always had a pleasant thought for everyone . . . What a tragedy.”