FALLBROOK, Calif. (KGTV) -- A Fallbrook florist didn't let last week's Lilac Fire keep her from delivering to two major life events, even though her shop was in the middle of the danger zone.
Robyn Dahlson, owner of The Social Flower, had to evacuate her home and her flower shop when the fire spread through northern San Diego County. Meanwhile, she also needed to deliver a pair of bouquets.
One was for the funeral of 19 year old Kevin Rodriguez. He had been stabbed to death in a Wal-Mart Parking lot last month. Dahlson has offered to donate the flowers for his ceremony.
The other bouquet was for a wedding, for a Marine who was about to deploy.
"It was never an option to not have it happen," she told 10News. "We were going to deliver even if the place was falling down behind us."
But all the roads back to the shop were closed. Dahlson begged a deputy for help.
"I said to him, 'I don't want to be the one that tells a young marine he doesn't get to have flowers at his wedding.'"
The plea worked, a deputy let her through the road block to her shop for one hour. She was able to make her deliveries.
"Everything felt so normal," she says. "You finish your day at work and you just want to put your feet up at home and relax.
"But I didn't have a home to go to."
Dahlson had seen on the news last week that her home had burned down. It wasn't until after making the deliveries that the enormity of what happened started to sink in.
"It was just shocking. You don't have words to describe it."
Walking through the wreckage this week, all that's recognizable of her home is a chimney. She had lived there for 30 years.
"It's everything. The photos, the childhood blankets, absolutely everything," she says.
Dahlson and her fiance, Jon, lived in the house, taking care of her father, Roy. He has MS and is wheelchair bound. All three survived the fire. So did the family cat, Kismet.
She says all the "things" can be replaced. And making those last two deliveries helped her realize that the important stuff, her family, is all that matters.
They plan to rebuild. Until then, she still has her flower shop.
"We're still filling orders, we still have deliveries... You know, life goes on."
Robyn set up a GoFundMe page to help with incidentals while she and her family work through insurance claims. You can donate here.
We're working on this story for 10News at 6 am. To hear more from Robyn, tune in Wednesday at 6 am.
