Families Tour Damage Following Devastating Modesto Brush Fire
MODESTO (CBS13) – Six Modesto families visited what was left of their homes one day after a brush fire swept through their neighborhood.
In one area, there was nothing left but charred up remains. People who lived there said the area was covered with tall dry grass and they believe that's what fueled the fast-moving fire.
Shon Kumar and his family came by their home on Saturday to see what they could salvage.
"What's next for you?" we asked. "I don't know, trying to get my family a place to live for right now," Kumar said.
With nothing left, all the Kumar's can do is pick up their lives and start over.
"It was really heartbreaking, after years of hard work to get everything and seeing it burned down. Just, you know, it's heartbreaking," Kumar said.
The Kumar's aren't the only ones who lost everything, Maria Figueroa and her husband did too. Both of their cars are no longer drivable; inside their home, nothing but ashes.
"We tried to get any clothes or something, but nothing [is] left," Figueroa said.
The fire destroyed six homes. Firefighters on the scene Friday night said the weather played a huge role in how quickly the fire spread. Gusts were as strong as 25 miles an hour when the fire broke out – and the families believe the dry, tall grass in the open fields is also to blame for their devastating losses.
"The grass started burning and the grass started rolling and the winds blew up, so all the roofs started catching on fire," said Raymond Ontiveroz, another resident of the area.
Modesto firefighters said they are investigating the possibility that the fire was human-caused.
