A firefighter and his wife were overcome with emotion after he found his wedding ring amid the rubble of their home, now destroyed in the Los Angeles wildfires.
Pasadena Fire Engineer Chien Yu, accompanied by CNN’s Erin Burnett, was searching through the rubble when one of his colleagues discovered a silver ring and handed it to him. Upon realising it was his wedding ring, which had been misplaced in the chaos, he showed it to his wife. Overcome with emotion, the couple hugged and cried outside their destroyed home, where they had lived for nearly eight years.
“That’s it-oh my God!” Mr Yu said after fellow firefighters dug through the ruins of his home and found the ring. Asked how he expected his wife would react, Chien Yu said that she had no idea it was missing. Filled with emotion, she said, “What! Oh, my gosh!” and froze for a moment before the two hugged each other.
Speaking to CNN, Mr Yu said when he saw the fire approaching last week, he evacuated his wife and two children before buckling up for a 16-hour shift combating the fire in his neighbourhood. He had no idea his home had been demolished until he got off work that day.
The couple and their two sons have moved, but the kids are having a hard time adjusting. “It’s never going to be the same for the kids,” he said. “They’re doing the best they can, you know?” They frequently ask when they can go back to their house or return to school, which was destroyed in the fire and was located next door, said Mr Yu.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Eaton Fire had burned 14,117 acres of land and is 55 per cent contained as of January 16. The Palisades Fire has burned 23,713 acres and is 27 per cent contained.
At least 27 people have died and the death count may climb further, as per the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Over 30 people are still reported missing.
