'There Goes Our Staircase': Residents Watch As SoCal Fires Destroy Their Homes
VENTURA (CBSLA) — The flurry of wildfires that have engulfed the Southland are leaving thousands of residents grappling with the loss of their homes and irreplaceable personal belongings.
Ventura County's Thomas Fire has scorched 65,000 acres and destroyed at least 150 structures. At Cliffside Circle and Valley View Way in Ventura, six homes were destroyed Tuesday as the fire ripped through the neighborhood.
"There goes our staircase, and the inside of the house," homeowner Tracy Bird told CBS2's David Goldstein.
The Harley motorcycle belonging to Bird's husband could be seen burning up in the driveway.
"It's almost like an out-of-body experience, is what it is," Bird said. "You know this is your home, you know this is your neighborhood, but this is the state that it's in now, and it's kind of hard to comprehend truly."
A few blocks away, six more homes were destroyed. Alfred Monroy and his family lost everything, but is grateful to be alive.
"A lot of our family are fortunate," Monroy said. "We lost things, but that's all they are, is things. They can be replaced, it's just material stuff. But the people are safe, that's what I care about."
Near Church of the Foothills, Pete Scott was a one-man bucket brigade, drawing water out of a backyard pond with a plastic bucket to try and douse the flames that engulfed his sister's home. Scott was bleeding from scratches on his arms.
"I can't just sit here and do nothing," Scott said. "So I came up here, you have to do what you have to do."