Survivor of the disaster Eton Fire which destroyed the territory of Altadina. Los Angeles County recently spoke about his experience fighting a fire.
Altadena resident Justin Christie spoke about his experience with Fox News Digital on Saturday afternoon. As of Saturday evening, the Eaton fire, which started on Tuesday, was only 15% contained.
Christy explained that his family has lived in the area since 1967, and he had never seen anything as devastating as the Eton Fire before.
“[I’ve seen] Tons of fire on that hill,” Christie recalled. “When I saw it, when I came down the street and I saw the flames on the side of the hill, something told me it was different.”
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“I got really scared, and I started thinking [about] What I had to do to prepare for it.”
Christie said he was horrified to see one of his palm trees on fire, which had never happened before. He quickly put all his family members in his car and drove them away from the spot.
“I’ve never, in all the fires, never set fire to one of our trees,” he said. “And it was him who really said, well…we’re in big trouble.”
Christy later drives to check on her house – after realizing that no one is going to put out the fire in her palm tree, Christy decides to take matters into her own hands and fight the fire herself. Decided.
“I thought my house, many times, was going to go,” she recalled. “From 8 p.m. to 12 p.m. This house here, burning with me, was the last house that was going to put me in danger.”
“When he finally calmed down… I was a little relieved.”
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Members of Congress visit the wildfire disaster area in Altadena on Saturday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
But Christie said the sense of relief was short-lived before another of her neighbors found their garage on fire. Although Christie’s home was spared from the fire, the resident described the whole situation as “just shocking”.
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s enough to make you cry,” Christie said. “A lot of people just lost everything.”
“And I never thought… we’ve been here so long… I always thought we were far enough out of the fire’s reach.”
Thinking back on the experience, Christy described the sounds and sights. Forest fire As “unbelievable”.
The auditorium at Elliott Junior High is barely recognizable after a wildfire destroyed it Friday in Altadena, Calif. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“Shattering glass, explosions from gas lines, people’s propane tanks, cars on fire,” he described vividly. “It looked like several freight trains were coming at you.”
All in all, Christie said it was nothing short of a miracle that her home survived the Eaton fire.
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“It was a miracle that I got the fire under control… the wind died out at one point,” he said. “And if it hadn’t… it would have grabbed that trellis that I had, it would have set my house on fire and I would have been done. And there were many times when I wanted to go, but I didn’t.” No, I stayed
“If I had gone, I would have gone home. Absolutely gone.”