Evacuees Returning To Where Homes Once Stood: 'There's Nothing To Sift Through'

NAPA (CBS13) - Many people whose homes were destroyed in the Atlas Fire returned for their first look at their property Friday.

Bill and Janice Mathis live on Deer Hollow Drive in Napa.

"It was a full three bedroom, three bath," said Janice.

Their three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and everything else is now reduced to ashes.

"For me it's confusing," Bill Mathis said

The couple is left trying to sort out what's next in their lives.

"In this moment, you realize you don't put your boots on and your gloves on and go sift through stuff," Janice Mathis said. "There's nothing to sift through."

More than 100 homes across this neighborhood near Silverado Resort in Napa burned down in the Atlas Fire. Two people were killed.

On this day, Napa County search and rescue teams were meticulously combing through debris.

The Silverado Resort escaped major damage. But strong winds downed power lines all around the grounds.

PG&E is staging heavy equipment there. They're working on restoring power.

For those who survived the fire who are now left with no homes, the question is what's next and how to move on.

"The first thing we think of is we're fortunate," Janice Mathis said.

"If you don't move on, you move down," Bill Mathis said.