Despite losing everything in the devastating and still raging Los Angeles County wildfires this week, Deisy-Suarez Giles’ family returned to survey the wreckage of their burned-down home, where her two young boys were happy to find a couple of their toys in the rubble.
Suarez-Giles, a three-time business owner, said they ironically moved into their Altadena, California, home because during the COVID pandemic they lived above a pharmacy, where, in the middle of the night, someone tried to burn the building to the ground.
“Right after COVID, we left downtown LA, when a lot of protests and also the riots were happening. We left because the building we were staying in had a Rite Aid downstairs, and the people, you know, they tried to burn the Rite Aid. So we ran downstairs and put out the fire with a fire extinguisher because they were trying to burn the building,” Suarez-Giles said. “And I had my youngest, Lucas, who was only six months old, and I was like, ‘they gonna burn us here alive,’ so we had to get out.
“I told my husband, ‘we needed to find a way to find money and get a new home because we just cannot stay here; they are going to burn us here with our kids.’ And we ran from that to be here, and then we get burned out of our home,” she added, fighting through tears.
Deisy Suarez-Giles, left, with her family, including her husband and two boys, in front of their destroyed home in Altadena, Calif. (Deisy Suarez-Giles)
Suarez-Giles said their home came from hard work, determination and a desire to keep her family safe.
The family learned of the ferocious fires in the middle of the day Tuesday, but, although wary, they weren’t sure if they should evacuate at first, even though they saw neighbors leaving and moving horses and animals away from the area impacted by Eaton Fire.
Eventually, Suarez-Giles said, at around 1:30 Wednesday morning, they decided it was best to wake her boys, Henry and Lucas, grab a few important items and sleep in the car for the night just in case.
“We woke them up at 1:30, so we technically didn’t leave until like 2, because it took us a little time to like, you know, kinda gather whatever and get out, and within three hours, the house was already gone,” she said.
As Suarez-Giles woke her family to leave, she said it was then that the realization of what was happening became upsetting for the boys.
“Henry was very upset about it. He did cry. Lucas was scared when the fire was coming. There was a lot of panic leaving, especially with two little kids. Lucas was crying,” she said. “He was in a lot of panic when I woke him up. I said, ‘we gotta go, baby, the fire’s getting close.’”
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Deisy Suarez-Giles’ family survey the destruction of their home in Altadena, Calif., in the wake of the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County. (Deisy Suarez-Giles)
Henry, who was interviewed by a reporter in the fire’s aftermath Thursday as he stood next to his mother, recounted the frightening moments leading up to the loss of his home while clutching the only two things he has left in this world.
“And then the power went out, yeah, and then we, and then we were going to get our dad, but he was coming. Then we had power, flashlights, they’re so good, and I went, and they woke us up, me and my brother. And then we left our house,” Henry said. “And then we didn’t realize that our house was going to burn like this. And a lot of stuff that we left in our house, and it burned, and we had a 3D printer, and it was so special to me, and it’s going to make me a little sad, but, I don’t know why, but this is what happened to our house.
“And a lot of stuff that I love is gone. And now, everything is broken, and it’s all lost its color and stuff. And these are the only things that I have.”
Suarez-Giles said as it got later, the power went off and that’s when some of the panic started to set in. Her youngest son, Lucas, started crying.
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“He started freaking out, and then my husband went and got some flashlights and then Henry was very brave, he was helping us get, you know, things packed. I said let’s get everything ready so we can go, and you know,” she said. “Right around 11, we were still in the house, and they were like, ‘oh, we’re tired, we want to go to sleep.’ They were tired, and I said, ‘OK, you guys can go to sleep. I’m just gonna stay awake.'”
The remains of the Suarez-Giles home in Altadena, Calif., after the Eaton Fire destroyed the property. (Deisy Suarez-Giles)
Suarez-Giles said her family were not the only ones in the house when the fire closed in. A teacher from her son’s school was renting a room in their home, and he did not leave until it was almost too late.
“He had got woken up by the fire. My husband tried to, you know, let him know to go, but he was aware of everything that was happening because the school was in touch with all the teachers and stuff,” she said. “He didn’t think anything much of it, and he said he almost got burned because the fire was coming through the windows.”
For his part, a brave Henry wanted to return to the site of his former home to confirm what was broken and see what was left.
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“I wanted to check on it and see if it was not broken and my dad took a video [to show] that it was broken,” he said. “We went, so we know what happened and that was our chimney where Santa comes, and now it’s gone. Now we can’t get presents here anymore.”
According to LA County officials, the Eaton, Palisades, Kenneth, Hurst Fire and Lidia fire have burned more than 35,000 acres, with the Eaton and Palisades fires having claimed at least 11 lives.