He gestured to Old Waterman Canyon Road above, where arson investigators say the third worst fire in California was set. There have been no arrests, but Johnson is convinced the arsonist will get his due.
As Oct. 25 nears, residents admit that searing heat and gusty winds make them nervous.
"We had a little wind, and a fire in the Cajon Pass, and my whole family was freaked out for three days," said Paul Hodges. His home didn't burn, but sustained smoke damage. Many here vividly remember when the fire hopscotched down the streets, leveling some homes and leaving others untouched.
"It was a day like no other," Johnson said. "It's sad, but you have to go on. You have no choice. You go forward or you fall on your face."
During the blaze, Bill Daugherty fled after his shirt caught fire when he tried to douse burning palm trees with a garden hose.
Tami Goldstein had to abandon their 11-year-old cat. The animal's remains were found in the ruins of their home. Her 12-year-old daughter, Stevie, was one of four in her school to lose a home. But Stevie got straight A's this year.
Kathleen Daugherty said she's relieved that her home is nearly rebuilt. But beating the Goldsteins doesn't feel like a victory.
"We're almost back in, and they're not even started," she said. "It's sad. It's not fair."
She takes solace from her rosebushes and irises, which survived the wall of flame.
"I love gardening," she said. "I can't wait to plant poppies."
Impressed by her neighbor's new gardens, Tami Goldstein took matters into her own hands. She and her daughter painted large flowers along their smudgy cinderblock wall.
"I thought the flowers would be something nice to look at," she said. "This is, and was, our dream home and our dream neighborhood."
