'It's Just Scary': Deployed Soldier Gets Call That Home Destroyed In Caldor Fire
GRIZZLY FLATS (CBS13) - A soldier deployed to the Middle East was dealt a devastating blow back home in El Dorado County.
U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Trevor Hammonds was notified overseas that his community of Grizzly Flats was being evacuated. He had to tell his wife, Hannah, to get the kids and get out.
"I don't know, I've never felt such a terrified feeling before in my life," Hannah told CBS13.
Hannah will never forget the fear and anxiety of packing up her children, dogs and even chickens to escape the Caldor Fire flames creeping toward their home.
"I remember just seeing all this smoke and all the red hot embers coming down and ashes. And just looking at my house not knowing if it was the last time or not. Part of me knew that this was the last time I was going to see my house," said Hannah.
It was her dream house, the one she and Trevor had worked 10 years for. Trevor was deployed only days after Hannah gave birth to their son.
"And I'm doing everything on my end to get help and get home so I can take care of her and the baby and my daughters and it's just scary," Trevor told CBS13.
"And then having to call him and tell him that our home was gone was so hard, because he's already under pressure and stress. And then having to tell him everything we had worked for was gone that quickly," said Hannah.
While Hannah and the kids escaped the Caldor Fire with only the clothes on their backs, Trevor is now home and just relieved they made it out safely.
"Right now, it's just one day at a time," he said. "I mean I felt this is overwhelming emotion, happy. Just happy to know that everything I care about was there."
"Knowing that there's nothing left besides a little bit of my backyard," said Hannah. "I like to think that when life pulls you back, it's just an arrow that shoots you forward somewhere else."
To make matters worse, the Hammonds say there was an error when they refinanced their home and they just learned they don't have insurance. Everything is gone and none of it is covered.
If you'd like to help the Hammonds family, you can donate online.