Deisy-Suarez Giles and her family faced the heartbreak of losing their home in the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles County. Despite the devastation, they returned to the site to assess the damage, where her two sons found solace in discovering some of their toys among the ruins.
Suarez-Giles, an entrepreneur who has established three businesses, shared the ironic reason behind their move to Altadena, California. They had chosen this residence during the pandemic after escaping a perilous situation in downtown LA, where their previous accommodation, located above a pharmacy, was targeted for arson during the unrest.
“Following the peak of COVID, we made the decision to leave downtown LA due to the chaos of protests and riots. Our previous building had a Rite Aid on the ground floor, and amid the turmoil, individuals attempted to set it on fire. In a harrowing moment, we rushed downstairs to extinguish the flames with a fire extinguisher, fearing for our lives, especially with my youngest, Lucas, who was just six months old at the time,” Suarez-Giles recounted.
“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.’”
“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.
“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.
