Hero volunteer firefighter had to watch her own home burn down while battling LA inferno

A heroic volunteer firefighter was forced to watch her own home burn down as she battled the flames in Los Angeles.

Heather McAlpine, 33, was helping people evacuate their homes as the fire approached when she noticed it was moving to the cottage she rents in Altadena.

While she was able to save her pet cat, her home was destroyed by the Eaton fire – one of four fires that devastated the LA area, as reported by People.

‘I could see the flames from my house. They were on the hill,” she said. “It wasn’t certain if he would reach the house, but it was close enough that we had to get out.”

After rescuing her cat, cameras, skis, a book and some photos, the ‘devastated’ Altadena Mountain Rescue Team Volunteer went back into search and rescue mode.

A GoFundMe because McAlpine was founded after she lost her house and most of her belongings. It has raised $32,000 of its $35,000 goal.

“I’m very sad,” said the photographer.

“I’m glad I can keep myself busy and still try to give back and do whatever I can because I really don’t know what else to do. I still want to do what I can to support my community.”

‘I could see the flames from my house. They were on the hill,” said McAlpine, who shared the above photo

The cottage McAlpine rents in Altadena was destroyed in the fire

While the team of volunteers typically rescues those in need in the San Gabriel mountains, the volunteers stepped in to help the victims of the dystopian fires.

“We saw the fire spread so quickly that it turned into a ‘get everyone out as quickly as possible’ situation,” McAlpine said.

“Our mission was to evacuate everyone. So we did that all night, door to door.”

McApine added: “It was quite overwhelming with the wind speeds we were dealing with.

“It seemed like there was no way to control the fire because of the wind. So we just did our best to get people out.”

The wildfires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area since January 7 have claimed at least 20 lives and destroyed thousands of structures.

AccuWeather, a company that provides data on weather and its impact, estimates damage and economic losses at $250 billion to $275 billion.

Fewer than 100,000 people in Los Angeles County remain under evacuation orders.

Firefighters continue their work in the burning residential areas of Los Angeles

A helicopter flies over the Palisades Fire, one of several simultaneous fires that have torn through Los Angeles County

While the team of volunteers typically rescues those in need in the San Gabriel mountains, the volunteers stepped in to help the victims of the dystopian fires.

Extremely dry weather conditions due to prolonged drought, dry vegetation and strong Santa Ana winds reaching up to 80 miles per hour in some areas this week created the “perfect storm” for the fires.

National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Hall said dry winds reached speeds of 60 mph in coastal and valley areas and 50 mph in the mountains Tuesday morning.

Wind gusts of up to 65mph were forecast to continue until Wednesday afternoon as firefighters struggle to control the infernos.

The Palisades fire, which had burned 23,700 acres as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, is only 17 percent contained.

Just north of Pasadena, the Eaton Fire has burned more than 40,000 acres and was only 35 percent contained as of 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The Hurst Fire north of San Fernando is nearly extinguished with 97 percent containment after destroying 2,000 acres.

A fourth major fire – the Auto Fire – broke out in Ventura on Tuesday. The latest inferno has destroyed 56 acres so far and is zero percent contained, according to the Cal Fire heat map.