Santa Rosa Kids' Favorite Halloween Costume? Firefighter!
SANTA ROSA (KPIX) -- This Halloween, many Santa Rosa kids were wearing a superhero costume that took on a special meaning in the aftermath of the wildfires that devastated their community.
They dressed up as firefighters.
Sure, some kids' heroes live in comic books – like Batman and Captain America.
But for Kyle Ray Mota Jr., his role models are the ones who live among us and kept his home standing after he was evacuated a couple weeks ago.
"They rescue the puppies to get out of the house and they rescue the kids," said the kindergartner. "And they fix the house so the kids can go back."
Kyle's cousin Natalie Jump also had to evacuate during the wildfires. She says Kyle has always loved firefighters, long before the fires and has been infatuated with what they do.
"Every time one would drive by or we would drive by one, he'd always go, 'a fire truck!' or 'fireman!' with just the biggest grin on his face," she says.
Kindergartner Anthony Lorenzona Jesus says "they're awesome."
Things are just starting to get back to normal at Brook Hill Elementary School in Santa Rosa. Classes resumed on Friday.
Fortunately, not one student lost their home in the wildfires, leaving many here extremely appreciative of all the hard work the firefighters did.
"Our house and the group home that I work for - we all had to be evacuated," says Jump. "So they saved my home and the group home. So very, very fortunate."