‘It’s sad to see the house gone,’ says homeowner after Hawarden fire – Press Enterprise

Among the destroyed houses was that of Noel Piri.

He and his wife, three months pregnant, were in Orange County when they received a call that there was a fire in their neighborhood.

They came to save their dog. They called the fire department. No one showed up, he said.

By then, it appeared the fire had gained a foothold near the house. After multiple calls, firefighters arrived, but by then half of the house was ablaze, he said.

Later Sunday, a dejected Piri rummaged through the charred remains of the house, trying to grasp the scale of the fire and the challenge facing firefighters, and lamenting the loss of a home he and his wife had renovated just four months ago.

“It was a bit sad to see the house gone,” he said, clearly stunned.

Bernadette Kovacs and her two sons and their tabby cat Pepper were the last family inside the Orange Terrace Community Center Sunday night. At one point, 20 people were gathered for safety.

Earlier in the day, the family watched the fire creep up the creek bed behind the Kovacs’ home. They could hear the cracking and popping as it approached their backyard. Her husband watched the fire as others packed up their belongings so they would know when to leave.

“I always knew it was a possibility, but I never thought it would come this close,” said Bernadette Kovacs.

The Kovacs immediately began packing their belongings and were already in their cars when police arrived at the door.

“We just came here to get information, my little one was really scared,” Kovacs said. “As soon as he saw the fire started, he started packing his bags.”

Kovacs said it was a challenge to convince the family cat to go into her crate, but the family packed bags and important paperwork, then went out for ice cream while they waited for news. They got an alert about the evacuation center and decided to move there.

Ultimately, their house survived the disaster without any damage.

Linda Hernandez, 54, has lived in Riverside all her life. Her parents, who own a home next to the Staddans, were out of town during the fire and called her and her older sister to go to the house and evacuate it.

The sisters, some nieces and nephews and her son made sure important papers were safe, moved vehicles and sprayed the roof edges and surrounding plants with water to protect them from the fire.

A cousin, who works in the horticultural industry, turned on the sprinklers and found extension hoses.

“It came right up to our neighbor’s gate and we sprayed the hose as much as we could and then jumped over to Gary’s house to water his bushes,” Hernandez said.

The scorch marks from the fire stopped at the edge of the property, at a firebreak, her father claims. She said the property on the other side of the house is owned by the city and that workers had cleared the undergrowth two weeks earlier.

Hernandez and her family left around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and were able to return home later that night to monitor the house and put out the fires.

“We had to, it’s our parents’ house and they worked hard for everything they have,” Hernandez said.

Her parents bought the house thirty years ago.

“We prayed to all of our saints and we really felt like they were helping us and the community,” Hernandez said.

She said fire trucks were out all day and night, and her neighbors and other volunteers came by to offer help, including food and water. At any given time, Hernandez said, there were at least 18 people at the homes on the ridge, hosing down surrounding properties and keeping an eye on the fire.

“It’s a nice feeling to know that you’re not alone in times of need,” Hernandez said. “What I love about Riverside is that we’re all there for each other.”