Deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area have been raging for a week as firefighters battle to contain them. At least 24 people have died in the fires. Officials say more than 7,000 structures, including homes, schools and businesses, have been destroyed so far. One of them is the home of firefighter Isaac Baeza and his family, which was completely destroyed by the fire in the city of Altadena.
Baeza, a firefighter with more than 20 years of experience, says the fire has been unprecedented.
"I've never seen a force of nature like this, such winds and drought," he tells Voice of America.
Baeza's wife, Rosary, remembers how they received an evacuation notice on Tuesday evening, but they didn't think they would find anything left: the fire seemed far away and small, they only packed a few belongings.
In the morning, Baeza and a friend returned to try to save the house, but there was no water.
"We thought we could save the house, but we found out there was no water. The flames were spreading quickly and I drove away. I remember looking in the mirror and seeing the back of the house on fire and thinking, 'Maybe if I had had water, I could have put out these little fires and maybe my house wouldn't have burned down,'" he says.
Firefighters have been struggling with low water pressure or a lack of water to extinguish a blaze in Altadena and a larger one in the Palisades area. California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced an investigation into the matter.
The fires in Los Angeles are now about 60 square miles (150 square kilometers). More than 150,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. The dry, fast-moving Santa Ana winds that are fanning the flames are expected to pick up again on Monday, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said.
"The high risk warning is in effect until 6:00 p.m., Wednesday evening. Strong Santa Ana winds are also expected to last through Wednesday, with the strongest winds expected on Tuesday."
Mr. Baeza's family is staying with some friends, awaiting payment from insurance companies. They say they plan to rebuild the house.
"We're all going to come back and rebuild, us and our neighbors. This is our community. Our kids played at the end of the street with other kids. We celebrated birthdays together. We're very close," says his wife Rosary Villegas.
The Los Angeles community has come together in this time of disaster to help displaced families, as well as to support firefighters. Evacuation shelters and fire stations are so overwhelmed with food and clothing that authorities have had to announce that they are now only accepting monetary donations./ Voice of America (A2 Televizion)
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