Altadena family of four stays brave in face of devastating wildfire losses: ‘Everything I loved is gone’
Despite losing everything in this week’s wildfires that are still raging in Los Angeles County, Daisy Suarez-Giles’ family returned to view the remains of their burned home, and her two young boys were delighted to be found inside got some of their toys.
Suarez-Giles, a three-time entrepreneur, said it was ironic that they moved into their home in Altadena, Calif., because they were living above a pharmacy during the coronavirus pandemic and someone tried to burn the building down in the middle of the night. .
“We left downtown Los Angeles when COVID hit and there were a lot of protests and riots. We left because there was a Rite Aid downstairs in the building we were staying in, and people, you know, they were trying to burn down the Rite Aid. So we Ran downstairs and put out the fire with a fire extinguisher as they tried to burn the building down,” Suarez-Giles said. “I had my youngest child, Lucas, who was six months old, and I thought, ‘They’re going to burn us alive,’ so we had to leave.
“I told my husband, ‘We need to find a way to find money and buy a new home because we can’t stay here; they’re going to burn us and our kids here.'” We fled here and came here, and then we Burnt out of the house,” she added, fighting back tears.
Daisy Suarez-Giles (left) and her family, including her husband and two boys, in front of their destroyed home in Altadena, California. (Daisy Suarez-Giles)
Suarez-Giles said their home is the result of hard work, determination and a desire to keep their family safe.
The family learned of the violent fire at noon on Tuesday but, although they were alert, were not initially sure if they should evacuate, despite seeing neighbors leaving and moving horses and animals away from areas affected by the Eaton fire. .
Suarez-Giles said eventually, around 1:30 Wednesday morning, they decided it was best to wake her sons, Henry and Lucas, grab some important belongings and sleep in the car for the night, just in case.
“We woke them up at 1:30, so technically we didn’t leave until about 2 o’clock because it took us a little while to like, you know, kind of collect stuff and then leave, within three hours, the house Just left,” she said.
When Suarez-Giles woke the family to leave, she said the realization of what had happened upset the children.
“Henry was very upset about it. He actually cried. Lucas was scared when the fire happened. A lot of people were panicking, especially with two small children. Lucas cried,” she said. “When I woke him up, he was panicking. I said, ‘We gotta go, baby, the fire is getting closer.'”
Single mother who lost everything in Eaton fire praises Altadena’s ‘resilience’ and ‘spirit’
The family of Daisy Suarez-Giles is investigating the destruction of their home in Altadena, California, following the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County. (Daisy Suarez-Giles)
Henry stood next to his mother and spoke to reporters Thursday after the fire, clutching the two remaining things he had in the world as he recounted the horrific moments that led to him losing his home.
“Then the power went out, yeah, and then we, and then we were going to pick up our dad, but he came. And then we had the power, the flashlights, they were great, and I went and they woke us up, My brother and I, and we left the house,” Henry said. “Then we didn’t realize our house was going to burn down like this. A lot of the stuff we left in the house burned down, and we had a 3D printer, which is very special to me, and it’s going to make me a little bit Sad, but, I don’t know why, but this is what happens in our family.
“A lot of the things I loved are gone. Now, everything is broken and has lost its color and stuff. Those are the only things I have.”
Then the power went out and panic set in, Suarez-Giles said.
Los Angeles fire chief says city is failing to prepare residents on wildfire preparations, budget cuts
“He started freaking out and then my husband went and got some flashlights and then Henry was very brave and he was helping us pack our things. I said let’s get everything ready so we can go, you know,” she explain. “About 11 o’clock, we were still in the house, and they said, ‘Oh, we’re tired, we want to sleep.’ “They were tired, and I said, ‘Okay, you guys go to sleep, I want to stay awake.’
All that’s left of Suarez-Giles’ home in Altadena, Calif., after the Eaton Fire destroyed it. (Daisy Suarez-Giles)
Suarez-Giles said her family was not the only ones in the house when the fire broke out.
“He was woken up by the fire. You know, my husband tried to get him to leave, but he knew everything that happened because the school was in contact with all the teachers and other personnel,” she said. “He didn’t think much of it and said he almost got burned because the fire came in through the window.”
For his part, brave Henry wants to return to his old home, identify what has been destroyed, and see what remains.
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“I wanted to check if it wasn’t damaged and my dad took a video [to show] “It’s broken,” he said. Now we can no longer buy gifts here.
The Eaton, Palisades, Kenneth, Hurst and Lidia fires have burned more than 35,000 acres, and at least 11 people have died in the Eaton and Palisades fires, according to Los Angeles County officials.
