Retired Rancher Dies in Escondido Blaze
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ESCONDIDO — A 72-year-old retired rancher died in a house fire here Wednesday night, authorities said.
Passers-by saw smoke coming from a small home in the 900 block of East 17th Avenue. They entered and found the charred body of Willard William Bower Jr. on the living room floor, a San Diego County coroner’s deputy said.
An Escondido Fire Department spokeswoman said units responded to a call from neighbors at 10:26 p.m. and found that the fire was confined to an area around a stuffed chair.
The preliminary finding of a continuing sheriff’s investigation is that the fire was started by a cigarette.
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