NAPA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) – First they lost their catering business because of the pandemic, and now they’ve lost their home.
“I woke up and looked at the window, saw the huge flames, woke up my wife and told to wake up the kids to start getting ready,” said Antonio Velazquez.
The Glass Fire tore through the Velazquez’s family home in Deer Park, along with many others.
“Honestly we didn’t think we were gonna be hit by the fire because we have so many times been evacuated. It gets to the point you know it becomes a routine. Unfortunately, this time wasn’t a normal evacuation. It was the last evacuation to see our house, Velazquez said.
Originally Antonio planned to stay behind with his son to defend their Deer Park home while his wife and two other children evacuated.
But as the fire got closer and closer, they made a quick decision to leave and join the rest of their family.
“Everything look on flames. The whole hill looked like hell,” Velazquez added.
He said the home held 19 years of special memories.
“Younger kids were born in that house, and that’s where all of us spent the best of our life there. We had a lot of memories, a lot of visitors because of the area,” Velazquez said.
They lost family photos, heirlooms, and future plans also reduced to rubble. In addition to a medical device for his son, that has autism. They also lost a communication book that the son uses with pictures and a pump that he uses when he gets asthma attacks.
Despite the loss, Valezquez says he’s thankful to still have his family and loved ones.
“That’s just material things. We’re fine. We’re blessed to be here together,” he said.
The Velazquez family does have home insurance, and they recently found out their plan does not cover immediate housing. For now, they’re staying with family.