Jose Garnica worked for more than two decades to build up his dream home that was reduced to ashes in a matter of minutes by the deadly firestorm striking Northern California.
Garnica, who moved to the U.S. from Mexico over 20 years ago, had finally decided he could afford to upgrade parts of his Santa Rosa house after building a stable career with the local garbage company and saving nearly everything he and his wife earned.
Over the past two years, he replaced the siding and installed a new air conditioner, stainless steel appliances and new flooring. He bought a new 60-inch (1.5-meter) television. On Saturday, the 44-year-old got an estimate to replace the fence, one of the last items on his list.
But at 3:30 a.m. Monday, he watched his house become one of the more than 2,000 homes and businesses destroyed by the series of blazes across the region that had killed at least 17 people.
香蕉视频直播淵ou feel helpless,香蕉视频直播� he said Tuesday. 香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 nothing you can do. Everything, your whole life, goes through your mind in a minute. Everything you had done. I left all my family behind in Mexico to get a better life. Finally we were just coming to the comfort level, and this happens.香蕉视频直播�
Garnica tried to save the home with a garden hose. He and a neighbour tried to cut open the neighbour香蕉视频直播檚 above-ground pool, hoping the water would protect their homes. In 15 minutes, the entire neighbourhood caught fire, he said.
香蕉视频直播淚f I knew this was going to happen, maybe those 45 minutes I spent trying to put the fire down, I should香蕉视频直播檝e just grabbed all the belongings,香蕉视频直播� Garnica said. 香蕉视频直播淏ut I didn香蕉视频直播檛 think it was going to happen.香蕉视频直播�
Those destructive flames raced across the wine country of Napa and Sonoma counties and the coastal beauty of Mendocino further north, leaving little more than smouldering ashes and eye-stinging smoke in their wake. Whole neighbourhoods are gone, with only brick chimneys and charred laundry machines to mark sites that were once family homes.
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香蕉视频直播淭his is just pure devastation, and it香蕉视频直播檚 going to take us a while to get out and comb through all of this,香蕉视频直播� said Ken Pimlott, chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. He said the state had 香蕉视频直播渟everal days of fire weather conditions to come.香蕉视频直播�
In some torched neighbourhoods, fire hydrants still had hoses attached, apparently abandoned by firefighters who had to flee.
The wildfires already rank among the deadliest in California history, and officials expected the death toll to increase as the scope of destruction becomes clear. At least 185 people were injured during the blazes that cropped up Sunday night. Nearly 200 people were reported missing in Sonoma County alone.
David Leal, 55, and his wife and stepson salvaged a few decorative items from their Santa Rosa home, including a wind chime, tiles from the backsplash in the kitchen, a decorative sun and a cross.
香蕉视频直播淥ur plan is to keep those things, and when we rebuild, they香蕉视频直播檒l be mementos of what we香蕉视频直播檝e lived through, and of, just, resilience,香蕉视频直播� Leal said. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 hard not to get emotional.
In the meantime, Leal got a post office box so the family can get mail, a new laptop and some clothes. They香蕉视频直播檙e living out of their two vehicles for now.
香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檒l be back home again sooner than later, and with our chins held high,香蕉视频直播� he said, choking back tears. 香蕉视频直播淎nd hopefully we香蕉视频直播檒l be amongst our neighbours and friends as they do the same.香蕉视频直播�
Leal, a U.S. Navy veteran, evacuated with his family, two dogs and cat to nearby Petaluma late Sunday after seeing fierce, hot winds and flames whipping in the distance.
香蕉视频直播淲e didn香蕉视频直播檛 have time to think about what to grab. We grabbed what we saw,香蕉视频直播� he said. He got his external hard drive, which was lying out, but left his laptop.
Garnica also hung onto hope, saying he was not back at square one.
香蕉视频直播淚 came into the States with nothing. I didn香蕉视频直播檛 have anything,香蕉视频直播� Garnica said. 香蕉视频直播淚 think I香蕉视频直播檓 better off than how I came in. At least I got a job. I got a family. I香蕉视频直播檓 healthy.香蕉视频直播�
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Knickmeyer reported from Sonoma, California. Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker, Olga R. Rodriguez, Sudhin Thanawala, Juliet Williams and Andrew Dalton in San Francisco and Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento contributed to this report.
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Follow the AP香蕉视频直播檚 complete wildfire coverage here: https://apnews.com/tag/Wildfires.
Jonathan J. Cooper And Ellen Knickmeyer, The Associated Press
