The second victim of a house fire in Yucca Valley last month has been identified by his caregiver as Bud Mane, 72. About 11:15 p.m. on December 14, county firefighters were called to a house fire in the 7700 block of Bannock Trail in Yucca Valley, where they were told at least one man was still inside. Firefighters retrieved Bud Mane’s body from a bedroom. The next morning, investigators found the body of Jeffrey Wire, 45, in the master bedroom, near the fire’s point of origin. They suspect that Wire started the fire in which both he and Bud Mane died. Managing editor Tami Roleff spoke with Jeffrey Wire’s widow and files this report…
“He was a man we met. He had Alzheimer’s and dementia and didn’t move around as good anymore. And he wasn’t being taken care of.”
Jennifer Meyers said her family took Bud Mane into their home about five years ago to take care of him.
She said Bud Mane used to work in the movie industry, and was proud of his work doing pyrotechnics for the show “MASH.”
Meyers said neither she nor her son were at home at the time of the fire, so she doesn’t know what happened.
“Sometimes people lose themselves, and sometimes they get overcome by feelings, of bitterness, and sometimes they do things that aren’t explainable because they’re just so overcome by emotions.”
Meyers’s son reported the fire, but she said they weren’t allowed near the home for several days.
“They wouldn’t even tell us any thing until the next day. The whole night we had to wonder what happened.”
By the time they were able to return, it had been looted.
In addition, Meyers said she didn’t have insurance for her house, since she inherited it from her mother.
A GoFundMe site has been set up to help Jennifer Meyers and her children.
