Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Although everything was lost in the devastating situation and was still raging Los Angeles County After this week’s wildfires, Deisy-Suarez Giles’ family returned to survey the rubble of their burned home, where her two young sons were happy to find some of their toys among the rubble.
Suarez-Giles, a three-time business owner, said they ironically moved into their new home Altadena, Californiatheir home because they lived above a pharmacy during the COVID pandemic where someone tried to burn the building down in the middle of the night.
“Immediately after COVID, we left downtown LA when there were a lot of protests and also riots. We left because the building we were staying in had a Rite Aid downstairs and people, you know, were trying to burn the rite.” “So we ran downstairs and put out the fire with a fire extinguisher because they were trying to to burn the building down,” Suarez-Giles said. “And I had my youngest, Lucas, who was only six months old, and I thought, ‘They’re going to burn us alive here,’ so we had to get out.”
“I said to my husband, ‘We had to find a way to find money and find a new home because we just can’t stay here. They will burn us here with our children.’ And we ran away to come here and then we burned our home,” she added, fighting back tears.
Deisy Suarez-Giles walked with her family, including her husband and two boys, in front of their destroyed home in Altadena, California. (Deisy Suarez-Giles)
Suarez-Giles said her home is the result of hard work, determination and a desire to protect her family.
The family learned of the fierce fires in the middle of the day on Tuesday, but despite their caution, they were initially unsure whether to evacuate, even though they saw neighbors leaving the affected area and moving horses and animals Eaton Fire.
Finally, Suarez-Giles said, around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, they decided it would be best to wake up their boys Henry and Lucas, take a few essentials with them and sleep in the car that night, just in case.
“We woke them up at 1:30 a.m., so technically we didn’t leave until 2 a.m. because it took us a while to, you know, kind of collect everything and get out, and within three hours the house was already finished “gone,” she said.
When Suarez-Giles woke her family to leave, she said the realization of what was happening was disturbing for the boys.
“Henry was very upset about it. He actually cried. Lucas was scared when the fire broke out. There was a lot of panic, especially with two small children. “Lucas was crying,” she said. “He was in a huge panic when I woke him up. I said, ‘We gotta go, baby, the fire’s getting closer.'”
Single mother who lost everything in Eaton fire praised Altadena’s ‘tenacity’ and ‘spirit’
The family of Deisy Suarez-Giles surveys the destruction of their home in Altadena, California, following the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County. (Deisy Suarez-Giles)
Henry, interviewed by a reporter while standing next to his mother on Thursday after the fire, recounted the frightening moments that led to the loss of his home while clutching the only two things he had left in this world.
“And then the power went out, yes, and then we, and then we went to get our father, but he came. Then we had electricity, flashlights, they’re so good, and I went and they woke us up.” “Up, me and my brother. And then we left our house,” Henry said. “And then we didn’t know our house was going to burn like that. And we left a lot of stuff in our house, and it burned, and we had a 3D printer, and that was very special to me, and.” It’s going to make me a little sad, but I don’t know why, but This is exactly what happened to our house.
“And a lot of the things I love are gone. And now everything is broken and everything has lost its color and everything. And those are the only things I have.”
Suarez-Giles said as it got later, the power went out and the panic began. Her youngest son, Lucas, started crying.
LA FIRE CHIEF SAYS CITY RESIDENTS FAILED IN WILDFIRE PREPARATION, BUDGET CUTS
“He started freaking out and then my husband went and got some flashlights and then Henry was very brave, he helped us pack up. I said, let’s get everything ready so we can go, and you know,” she said. “Around 11 o’clock we were still in the house and they said, ‘Oh, we’re tired, we want to go to sleep.’ They were tired and I said, ‘Okay, you can go to sleep, I’ll just stay awake.'”
The remains of the Suarez-Giles home in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire destroyed the property. (Deisy Suarez-Giles)
Suarez-Giles said her family wasn’t the only ones in the house when the fire broke out. A teacher from her son’s school rented a room in her house and he didn’t leave until it was almost too late.
“He was woken up by the fire. My husband tried to let him know that he should go, but he knew everything that was happening because the school was in contact with all the teachers and stuff,” she said. “He didn’t think much of it and said he almost got burned because the fire came through the windows.”
For his part, brave Henry wanted to return to the site of his former home to check what was broken and see what remained.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“I went to see if it wasn’t broken and my dad took a video [to show] that it was broken,” he said. “We went there, so we know what happened, and that was our chimney where Santa Claus comes, and now he’s gone. “Now we can’t get presents here anymore.”
According to LA County officials, the Eaton, Palisades, Kenneth, Hurst Fire and Lidia fires have burned more than 35,000 acres, with the Eaton and Palisades fires causing at least 11 deaths.
