A survivor of the devastation Eaton fire Which destroyed the Altadena area Los Angeles County He recently spoke about his experience battling Hell.
Justin Christie, an Altadena resident, spoke with Fox News Digital on Saturday afternoon about his experience. As of Saturday evening, the Eaton Fire, which started Tuesday, was only 15% contained.
Christie explained that his family has lived in the area since 1967, and had never experienced anything as devastating as the Eaton Fire before.
“(I saw) tons of fires on that hill,” Christie recalled. “When I saw that, when I walked out into the street and saw the flames on the hillside, something told me this was different.”
Justin Christie is photographed in front of damaged buildings and homes caused by the Eaton wildfire in the Altadena neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Getty Images/Derek Schock for Fox News Digital)
“I got really scared, and I started thinking about what I should do to prepare for this.”
Christie said he was particularly disturbed after seeing one of the palm trees catch fire, which had never happened before. He quickly got all his family members into his car and drove them away from the scene.
“I have never, in all the fires, had one of our trees catch fire,” he said. “And this is the one who really said, 'Well… we're in big trouble.'
Christie later went to check on the condition of his house – and when he realized that no one would put out the fire at his palm tree, Christie decided to take matters into his own hands and fight the fire himself.
“I thought many times that my house was going to disappear,” he recalls. “From 8 p.m. to 12 p.m. This house here, which burned down next to me, was the last house to put me in danger.”
“When that person finally calmed down… I had a slight feeling of relief.”
Members of Congress tour the Altadena wildfire disaster area on Saturday. (Derek Schock for Fox News Digital)
But Christie said that feeling of relief was short-lived before another neighbor suffered a fire in his garage. Although Christie's home was not harmed by this fire, the resident described the entire situation as “very shocking.”
“It's heartbreaking. It's enough to make you want to cry,” Christie said. “A lot of people have 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.”
Looking back on the experience, Christie described the sounds and sights forest fires As “unbelievable”.
The auditorium at Elliott Junior High School became unrecognizable after it was destroyed by wildfires in Altadena, California, on Friday. (Derek Schock for Fox News Digital)
He vividly described “broken glass, gas line explosions, people's propane tanks, and cars on fire.” “It sounds like several freight trains coming toward you.”
Overall, Christie said it was nothing short of a miracle that his home survived the Eaton Fire.
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“It was a miracle that I was able to control the fire…the wind died down in time,” he said. “And if that hadn't happened… this trellis next to me would have caught fire, it would have set my house on fire and I would have been done. And there were many times when I wanted to leave, but I didn't. I stayed.”
“If I had left, the house would have disappeared. It would have completely disappeared.”
