Four generations of the same family all lost their homes in the still-raging Los Angeles wildfires.
Danielle Stone, 37, and her husband, Bryan Davila, 35, told the Los Angeles Times that the home they shared with their baby daughter, Melina, was one of thousands burned to the ground by the deadly Eaton Fire.
After evacuating, they moved to be with Stone’s parents just a mile away — just to be forced to evacuate there, too. They also persuaded Stone’s grandmother, Helena Montanez, to leave her home of 60 years.
The family found out Wednesday that all three homes were destroyed — hitting four generations, from Stone’s baby daughter to the tot’s 89-year-old great-grandmother.
“It doesn’t feel as real,” Stone told the LA paper. “You go to sleep and you wake up and you’re like, ‘Is this real?’”
The three burned-down houses were within two miles of each other in a region where the family has roots stretching back over 100 years.
Stone said she and her husband had bought their home — their first — in 2022 to be within a mile of her parents, who still lived in her childhood home. Their daughter was born a year after they moved in.
They were all forced to evacuate on Jan. 7, the day the fire was spread by fierce Santa Ana winds in Eaton Canyon.
Davila told his wife to pack on the understanding that they might never return, she recalled.
“But even as I was saying that, I’m thinking with that mindset … you still don’t really believe it,” Davila said. “A lot was lost, because honestly in my heart I thought I’d be coming back home.”
They moved to Stone’s parents’ home — just for it to be clear the next morning that they would all have to leave, eventually moving to her grandma’s home to get her to evacuate, too.
They eventually relocated to Davila’s sister’s home in Hacienda Heights.
Stone’s parents raised her and her sister in Altadena after her grandmother settled and raised six children in the neighborhood.
“My grandma sacrificed and did everything she could to build a safe home for her and her family,” Stone told the outlet.
“My parents, you know penny for penny, saved and worked super hard to do whatever they could to create a safe home for me and my sister. For Bryan and I.”
Despite the wreckage, Stone says their family plans on rebuilding their home in Altadena. A GoFundMe to help the Stone, Davila and Montanez families rebuild has raised $108,825 of their $130,000 goal.
