Survivors devastating Eaton Fire who ravaged the Altadena area Los Angeles County he recently spoke about his experience of fighting hell.
Altadena resident Justin Christie spoke with Fox News Digital Saturday afternoon about his experience. As of Saturday evening, the Eaton Fire, which broke out on Tuesday, was only 15% contained.
Christie explained that his family has lived in the area since 1967 and had never seen anything as destructive as the Eaton fire before.
“[I’ve seen] tons of fires on this hillside,” Christie recalled. “When I saw that, when I went out on the street and saw the flames on the hillside, something just told me this was different.”
Justin Christie is pictured in front of a view of damaged structures and homes caused by the Eaton wildfires in the Altadena neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Getty Images/Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“I got really scared and started thinking [about] what should I have done to prepare for it.”
Christie said he was particularly upset after seeing one of his palm trees catch fire, which had never happened before. He quickly put all his family members in his car and drove them away from the scene.
“Never, in all the fires, have any of our trees ever caught fire,” he said. “And that was the one that really said, okay…we’re in big trouble.”
Christie later drove up to check on the status of his house – when he realized no one was going to put out the fire at his palm tree, Christie decided to take matters into his own hands and fight the fire himself.
“Many times I thought my house was going to collapse,” he recalled. “From 8 in the evening until 12 o’clock. This house here, burning next to me, was the last one that put me in danger.”
“When that one finally calmed down… I felt a little relieved.”
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Members of Congress tour the Altadena wildfire disaster zone on Saturday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
But Christie said that sense of relief was short-lived before another of his neighbors suffered a fire in their garage. Although Christie’s house was unscathed in that fire, the resident described the whole situation as “just shocking”.
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s enough to make you want to cry,” Christie said. “So many people just lost everything.”
“And I never, ever thought… that we’d been here so long… I always thought we were far enough out of fire’s reach.”
Recalling the experience, Christie described the sounds and sights forest fires as “unbelievable”.
The auditorium at Elliott Junior High School is barely recognizable after a wildfire in Altadena, California, destroyed it on Friday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“Breaking glass, exploding gas lines, people’s propane tanks, burning cars,” he vividly described. “It just sounded like a couple of freight trains coming at you.”
All in all, Christie said his home’s survival from the Eaton fire was a miracle.
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“It was a miracle that I caught fire … the wind died down at an opportune moment,” he said. “And if he hadn’t… he would have grabbed this grate that I have next to me, he would have set my house on fire and I would have been done for. And there were several times when I wanted to leave, but I didn’t. I was left alone.
“If I left, the house wouldn’t be there. Completely gone.”
