Father: Children Who Died In Sacramento Fire Were Just Starting Christmas Lists

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — An early morning house fire claimed the lives of two children and has left a family in mourning as the holidays draw near.

Jadha Cole called the day Ire Johnson, 11, and Israel Johnson, 6, died the worst day of his life. He says his children were just starting to make their Christmas lists. Now the only gifts for the children are in the form of a memorial remembering their lives cut short by the fire.

With each flicker of a candle and memento left on the porch is family heartache Cole is still coming to terms with.

"Those were God's children and he called them back when he was ready to call them back and I kind of wish it didn't happen on my time, on my turn or when I had them," he said. "He wanted them for right now and I wanted them too."

Cole woke up to smoke and a wall of flames inside his South Sacramento home on Tuesday. As he and four other family members escaped, his youngest children were trapped upstairs in a bedroom.

"I don't have nothing and this is the last spot where my kids was, so I don't know what to do. I'm kind of like, stuck," he said.

Older brother C.J. Johnson wiped away tears as he returned wearing the same charred pants from the early morning fire.

"I would just say make the most out of every moment you can with your loved ones," he said. "Life ain't promised—it's a sad thing."

Family members say the children were honor roll students at Union House Elementary School who had a penchant for chips and Harry Potter books.

LaDonna Lee, the children's mother, reflected on the joy they brought.

"When you see these kids walk through the door you already start smiling because you know someone is going to say something funny, someone is going to do something corny, someone is going to say something awkward. They're stars," she said.

Stars now looking down on a family in the throes of tragedy this holiday season.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, though it's believed to have started downstairs.