(NewsNation) — A California man saved his girlfriend’s home from burning down as wildfires ravaged the Los Angeles area.
Damon D’Arienzo joined “NewsNation Live” to discuss how he saved his girlfriend’s Pacific Palisades home with some assistance from Los Angeles fire officials.
D’Arienzo went back into the Palisades on Wednesday after evacuating the day before to see if the house was still standing but then decided to take action.
“The water wasn’t working at our home,” D’Arienzo said. “So I ripped down a “for sale” sign next door and started dumping pea gravel on the small burns on the back and the side of the house.”
“The third floor of her home caught on fire from the neighboring burn, and at that point, it just turned into this kind of serendipitous chain of miracles,” he said.
D’Arienzo, who battled the blazes for 15 hours, jumped in front of a sedan driving by, which happened to be a fire official willing to help put out the third-floor fire with an extinguisher.
“Then I pleaded for him to call an engine,” D’Arienzo said. “[The firetruck] finally arrived about 20 minutes later.”
After putting out that blaze, D’Arienzo managed the smaller flames while fire engine stopped by every few hours to assist where needed.
“I’m really grateful that the home is still standing,” he added. “I feel extremely sorrowful for everybody else in the neighborhood. Everything is really destroyed. It truly is carnage.”
At least 24 people have died since the fires began last week.
Fire crews experienced some relief over the weekend as winds decreased, but gusts are expected to increase on Monday and Tuesday.