Elderly Woman Dies In Murrieta House Fire

MURRIETA (CBSLA)  -- An elderly woman was killed early Sunday morning when a fire ripped through her Murrieta home.

CBS2's Adrianna Weingold spoke to residents saddened by the woman's death.

The home was heavily damaged. From the appearance of the blaze, it appears to have started in the garage.

The victim's bedroom was just over the garage.

She wasn't able to make it out in time.  Many of the neighbors watched helplessly as the French Valley neighborhood home was engulfed in flames.

"My heart sunk, we pulled up and one of the Cal Fire re trucks was parked in front of our house -- so we were just expecting the worst," says neighbor Raelynn Hansen.

The fire broke out just after 4 in the morning on Savannah Oaks Drive.

Neighbors said they awoke to the sounds of explosions and they saw thick, black smoke billowing out of the home.

Neighbors said the woman lived with her dog. The dog was able to escape the blaze.

"It's terrible, it just hurts. Hopefully she didn't suffer," Hansen said about her neighbor.

Sarai Sanchez, 12, says she and her cousins would often see the woman out gardening. She says they were scared last night with flames so close to their home

"Me and my family were just out here, seeing what was going on, and we were just saying prayers that whoever was in that house was all fine," she says.

Neighbors say the woman lived in the home for at least four years. They say she kept to herself and had trouble hearing.

The cause of. the fire, is still under investigation. The woman's identity has not been released.