i don't know if it helped sergio martinez that i forgave him, but i know it helped me.12 of our neighbors right around us in the canyon, within a mile, died that night doing the same things we were doing at the same time. why did we make it out? i don't know. but i know that god was with us through that. >> this fire changed the way i looked at the community, looked at my everyday life. when the chips are down and the community is facing adversity, this community still comes together. and that's what changed for me. i got to see it, and it was amazing. >> i think in some ways i really did die that night. i died to the old way of thinking of life. and i think in some ways i let go of a lot of things in this life that no longer meant anything to me. one of the miracles is that we still have fia with us today, and she's thriving and she's still the boss. and we still make sure she gets everything that she needs and then some, because she's a big part of the family. >> the constant criticism that we heard immediately after the fire was that firefighters weren't there. they

sergio martinez, the hunter who pleaded guilty to "setting timber afire" in the national forest, did not set the fire that trapped the roach family. they were caught in a smaller blaze known as the paradise fire. investigators believe that, too, was arson, but no one's ever been charged. today, san diego county does have an early warning system in place. officials say it has already saved lives. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm lester holt. ashlea was a wild and funny texan who everyone seemed to love. >> caring, loving, compassionate. >> so why did she have this strange premonition? >> ashlea always felt like she was gonna die young. >> the call came on black friday. >> she said, "ashlea's apartment's on fire." >> when the coroner pulled up, my heart broke. >> and this fire was no accident. >> they had conducted surveillance at ashlea's apartment. >> reporter: they're going back to the place where ashlea worked. >> yes, sir. >> they were going after tens of thousands of dollars. >> but was money the only motive? or was there something else? >> there were a lot of rumor