California wildfire responders lose own homes
VENTURA: California sheriff’s Commander Dave Murray, usually the guy who helps others evacuate when wildfires rage through their communities, this week surveyed the charred ruins of his own home in a neighborhood north of Los Angeles.
A 25-foot brick chimney and a pile of ash was all that remained after a blaze chewed through the hills above the ocean in the seaside city of Ventura. A melted Santa Claus figure sagged in front of a neighbour’s home.
“You never believe that it’s going to be your house, your stuff, you treasures that are going to be turned to rubble,” Murray said on Friday, visibly shaken. “It’s sobering.”
The six major wildfires that erupted throughout Southern California in the past week have killed at least one person, destroyed hundreds of buildings, forced more than 200,000 people to flee and choked the air across much of the region. Forecasters predict wind gusts to become more intense by Saturday night, challenging the 8,700 firefighters battling the fastmoving blazes all week.
Murray, 53, rushed his wife and three children to a friend’s house on Monday night after the power went out. He realised the fire was moving fast in the direction of the foothill neighborhood above the Pacific where he had lived for 25 years. “The orange glow was cresting the hill and you knew this place was going to go up,” he said.