NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (KGTV) – In a sea of devastation on an Altadena street, just one house still stands after the Eaton fire ripped through the California neighborhood on Tuesday.
The house belongs to Carla Saenz, who has lived in Altadena for nearly 25 years.
Saenz and her friend and gardener, Santiago Martinez, watched as the fire spread closer to the home.
Martinez lives on her property in a room behind her house. He started watering and he watered the entire front part of the house.
By early Wednesday morning, the flames were too close, so they evacuated.
Saenz drove to her parents’ home in National City, Calif. Martinez said he was going to his daughter’s house, but that wasn’t true.
Instead, he went back to Saenz’s home. He got on the roof and doused the house with a garden hose for hours, eventually flagging down multiple fire crews.
“They got that spray of foam over my home, and that was all because of his efforts,” Saenz said.
Saenz’s home was saved, but Martinez lost everything, including the room where he lived on the property and all of his gardening tools.
“I’m just so grateful to him. He’s definitely an angel that the Lord put in my path,” Saenz said.
A GoFundMe has been created to help Martinez get back on his feet and replace all of his tools.
“I don’t have words to express his sacrifice,” Saenz said.
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