As firefighters and officials continue to battle the massive fires around Los Angeles, one man in the hard-hit Altadena area told Global News how he stayed behind to try to save his and his neighbour’s houses.
The Eaton fire ripped through the area near Pasadena, leaving mostly ash, rubble and destruction in its wake.
Residents were told to evacuate, however, one man decided to stay behind to save his home.
Armed with a garden hose, Felipe Carrillo made a dangerous and desperate attempt to save his home and that of a few neighbours in Altadena.
After a few hours dousing his home and surrounding areas, Carrillo said he ran out of water, so he turned to his pool and used dirt to put out hot spots while embers rained down from the sky.
“I had my truck right at the end of the driveway,” Carrillo said. “I had the keys … ready to go. Worse comes to worst, jump in it, I can go right, left – I had my escape route.”
A husband and father of two, Carillo said he didn’t see firefighters until the next day.
“When you’re in the moment, you don’t think about it,” Carrillo said of the danger he faced. “Initially, my goal was to wet the house and leave. I knew if I left, there would be nothing standing … I couldn’t live with myself, or live with the fact that at least I didn’t try.”
Carrillo, who works for Highway Patrol, said he and his wife, an elementary school teacher, put their life savings into the home. They have lived there since 2009 and raised their children there.
The community struggle has been compounded by a critical issue – water. The New York Times reports power shutoffs intended to prevent new fire ignitions inadvertently knocked out the pumps firefighters rely on.
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“We’re not a third-world country,” Carrillo said. “We are America. And you’re telling me in America we don’t have water? There’s something wrong here.”
The death toll in the Altadena area from the Eaton wildfire has continued to climb as search efforts are ongoing.
“We searched approximately 364 properties in the Altadena area, and unfortunately, during that search, we did locate three deceased,” said Robert Luna, Los Angeles County Sheriff, at a media briefing on Sunday.
While firefighters expressed gratitude for Carrillo’s actions, they reinforced the reality of the risks he took and urged everyone to heed the warnings from officials to evacuate when told to do so.
Carrillo acknowledged that he could have died trying to save his home from the flames.
A curfew remains in place and officials are working to determine the cause of the fires.
Everyone is on edge with more wind gusts in the forecast. The firefight is expected to get even more intense in the days to come.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
