Some local firefighters who have fought to defend their neighborhood from fires over the years found themselves victims of the deadly inferno when the Eaton Fires expanded quickly and reached Altadena, where they torched hundreds of houses last week.
Together, Captains Jerry Puga and Al Hugo of the Los Angeles Fire Department have fought thousands of fires for over 50 years. Nevertheless, they both claim that they had never witnessed a fire act in such a manner as the Eaton Fire did.
Puga stated, “We all went to bed,” “No worries in my mind, I’m thinking, ‘It’s in the hills, it’s gonna stay in the hills.'”
He claims that he smelt smoke as soon as he woke up, which was around three in the morning. He hopped in the automobile to see what he could find, since he had neither electricity nor access to a television. He witnessed what appeared to be the end of the world: rows of burning houses, driven by strong gusts that altered the path of the fire.
Recalling, “Rain coming sideways, as burning embers,”
Hugo felt the same sense of wonder.
“It’s unbelievable, fire doesn’t do that,” he replied. “Going downhill, fire doesn’t do that.”
About the same time that Puga was fleeing his house, he had already evacuated his family and lived only a few blocks away from his counterpart. When he attempted to get back to his residence, the flames’ overwhelming might greeted him.
“It was a fire. When I brought my car back, I had gone about 100 feet, and I realized it was hopeless,” he added. “I saw the whole block was gone.”
In a matter of minutes, Puga and Hugo both lost everything.
“Still thinking that hopefully it’s just a bad dream and I’m gonna come and find my neighborhood just the way it was,” Puga stated.
“To me, what it makes me feel is the value of life,” remarked Hugo.
The two guys returned to action hours after their devastating loss in an attempt to salvage as much of their town as they could. Video captures Puga fighting a fire with his family and neighbors before on-duty personnel could come.