A California firefighter returned home early from a wildfire deployment, surprising his 10-year-old daughter in an emotional reunion in San Juan Bautista, California.
Instagram footage uploaded by Silvia Morales Padrón, shows San Jose firefighter Josh Padrón entering a room, to the shock of his daughter Eliana.
“Oh my God!” the 10-year-old screams, covering her face before her father pulls her into an embrace.
According to the family, Padrón had spent 13 days battling the August Complex-West Zone Fire in Mendocino, California, and 14 days prior at the North Complex Fire in Quincy.
“I really just missed him. I would cry to my mom and say ‘I miss him’ and ‘I want to go see him,’” Eliana said. “When he came home, it really surprised me.”
California and other western states have experienced a sting of record breaking fires this year, with CalFire reporting 4,129,924 acres, or 6,453 square miles, burned from all respective fires as of October 24.