Burned couple improved month after wildfire

Burned couple improved month after wildfire

11 December 2008

published by www.mercurynews.com

USA — A Montecito couple seriously burned in a wind-driven wildfire last month are improving at an Orange County burn center.

The mother of Lance Hoffman says her son and his wife Carla exchanged their first “I love yous” at the University of California, Irvine, Regional Burn Center.

Linda Hoffman told the Santa Barbara News-Press in an e-mail that Lance can now breathe on his own and he was able to mouth “I love you” during a hospital room visit by his wife.

Mrs. Hoffman says the exchange by the couple, both of them 29, was emotional for everyone, including the nurses.

The couple has been hospitalized since the Nov. 13 wildfire in Santa Barbara County. The couple suffered second- and third-degree burns while fleeing their rented home.