Despite losing everything in the Los Angeles County wildfires this week, Deisy-Suarez Giles’ family returned to survey the burned remains of their home. Her two young sons were delighted to find two toys. fragment.
Suarez-Giles, who has run the business three times, said she ironically moved to a home in Altadena, California. Because I lived above a pharmacy during the COVID-19 pandemic, and someone tried to burn down the building in the middle of the night. surface.
“Right after COVID, we left downtown LA, where there were a lot of protests and riots going on. There was a Rite Aid downstairs in the building we were staying in, and we left because people were trying to burn down the Rite. They were trying to burn down the building, so we left. ran downstairs and put out the fire with a fire extinguisher,” Suarez-Giles said. “And we had our youngest son, Lucas, who was only six months old, and we had to get out because ‘they’re going to burn us alive.’
“I told my husband, ‘We have to find a way to find money and get a new house because we can’t stay here. They’re going to burn us down with our kids.’ And we ran away to stay here. It hit me and the house burned down.” She fought back tears.
Dayce Suarez-Giles, left, walks with her family, including her husband and two sons, in front of their destroyed home in Altadena, California. (Decey Suarez-Giles)
Suarez-Giles said their home stems from hard work, determination and a desire to keep their family safe.
The family found out about the raging fire in the middle of the day Tuesday, but were initially unsure if they should evacuate, even though they had seen neighbors leaving and moving horses and animals from the affected area in Eaton. fire.
Ultimately, Suarez-Giles said around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday she decided it was best to wake her sons, Henry and Lucas, pack a few important items and sleep in the car just in case.
“We woke them up at 1:30 and technically didn’t leave until 2 because it took us a little while to get anything together and get out. And within three hours the house was already gone,” he said.
Suarez-Giles said he woke the family up and told them to leave, and that’s when the boys realized what was happening and became upset.
“Henry was very upset about it. He was crying. Lucas was scared when the fire came. There was a lot of panic, especially leaving with two young children. Lucas was crying,” she said. “When I woke him up he was very upset. I said, ‘We have to go, honey, the fire is getting closer.’”
A single mother who lost everything in the Eaton fire has praised ALTADENA’s ‘strength’ and ‘spirit’.
The family of Deisy Suarez-Giles is investigating the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County, which destroyed their home in Altadena, California. (Decey Suarez-Giles)
Speaking to reporters while standing next to his mother in the aftermath of the fire on Thursday, Henry held on to the only two things he had left in the world and described the terrifying moments of losing his home.
“Then the power went out. Yes, and we were going to bring my father, and he came. Then the power came on, and there were flashlights, and it was great. I went there, and he woke us up.” I got up and me and my brother left the house,” Henry said. “And I had no idea our house was going to burn down like this. And a lot of the stuff I left in my house got burned, and I also had a 3D printer, which was really special to me. I feel a little sad, I don’t know why, but this happened at my house.
“A lot of the things I liked are gone. And now everything is ruined and has lost its color. And this is all I have.”
Suarez-Giles later said a bit of panic set in when the power went out. Her youngest son, Lucas, started crying.
The Los Angeles Fire Chief says wildfire preparations have kept city residents from cutting back on their budgets.
“He started freaking out, so my husband went and got a flashlight and Henry was very brave. He helped us pack up. I said let’s get everything ready so we can go.” she said “Around 11 o’clock we were still in the house and they were like, ‘Oh, I’m tired. I want to sleep.’ They were tired and I was like, ‘Okay, you can go to sleep. I said, ‘I’m just going to stay awake.’”
Remains of the Suarez-Giles home in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire destroyed the building. (Decey Suarez-Giles)
Suarez-Giles said her family was not the only one home when the fire broke out. A teacher at her son’s school was renting a room in the house, and he wouldn’t leave until it was almost too late.
“He woke up to the fire. My husband tried to tell him to go, but he knew what was happening because the school had been in contact with all the teachers,” she said. “He didn’t think much about it and said he almost got burned because the light was coming through the window.”
Brave Henry wanted to go back to where his old home was to see what had been destroyed and see what was left.
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He said, “I wanted to check if it was broken, and my dad took a video (to show) that it was broken.” “We went and found out what happened. That was the chimney where Santa came from, but now it’s gone. You can’t get presents here anymore.”
The Eaton, Palisades, Kenneth, Hurst Fire and Lidia fires have burned more than 35,000 acres, and the Eaton and Palisades fires have killed at least 11 people, according to LA County officials.
