[June 16, 2013] Fire ruins man's home amid birthday celebration Tweet Jun 16, 2013 (Appeal-Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Flames raced through a home south of Yuba City Saturday and nearly ruined a man's joint birthday and Father's Day celebration. No one was injured when the fire sparked around 4 p.m. outside Milo Espinoza's home at 4892 Highway 99. "It's not really my lucky day," Espinoza said. "It's kind of a bad day, I know that." Espinoza turns 64 on Monday, and his family was throwing him a large barbecue party. "I was shaking and shedding tears," Espinoza's daughter, Celia, said. "But he still had his good humor because nobody got hurt. I think he's more worried about his tools and his fishing poles." Espinoza and his son, Ismael, quickly removed nearby propane tanks and several people pulled vehicles away from the flames. "We heard someone say there was fire, but I didn't see anything at first," said Melanie Broussard. "Then, I look again and through the window I see flames coming up and all of the sudden it was all on fire." About 18 firefighters from Sutter County and Yuba City responded to the fire and extinguished the blaze in less than 15 minutes. Sutter County Fire Capt. Rick Fenn said the cause of the blaze, which sparked outside on the west side of the home, remains under investigation. Celia Espinoza speculated that flames may have sparked from flying barbecue embers, but she couldn't be sure. "It was all a surprise. We thought the chicken was burning at first," Celia Espinoza said. Espinoza will stay with family members tonight. "We're not going to stop his celebration," Celia Espinoza said. "More people are already coming here and bringing more food and drinks." Espinoza has lived at the two-bedroom house for about six years, moving back and forth between Yuba City and Mexico every six months for work. His main home is in Mexico. "It's a little sad," Celia Espinzoa said, "but this is just his house, not his casa." CONTACT Rob Parsons at [email protected] or 749-4785. ___ (c)2013 the Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, Calif.) Visit the Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, Calif.) at www.appeal-democrat.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]