A 30-year-old army veteran revealed the simple purchase that saved his home from the Los Angeles fires, as he described the damage from the blazes as “a war zone.”
Jim Cragg used cheap oscillating lawn sprinklers to keep flames from engulfing his Palisades home.
“After the last wildfire came close to us a few years ago, I bought cheap sprinklers, the ones that swing back and forth, and bought hoses,” Cragg said. NBC News.
“I had them ready, put them on my roof, turned them on, sprayed fire retardant on the side of my house, and I left, got out with my family.”
Cragg’s home is on a hill, and he said as the flames rolled down the hill, water from his sprinklers extinguished them, saving his neighbors’ homes below.
He told the press as his family drove away that they were trapped in the flames and described the scene as a war zone.
‘It was difficult. I mean, it’s hard like Afghanistan,” Cragg said. “Everyone here is doing a great job. I talked to LAPD, LA Fire. They’re doing what they can, but it’s a war zone.”
The father drove through his neighborhood and posted photos of the damage on Facebook.
Jim Cragg used cheap oscillating lawn sprinklers to keep flames from engulfing his Palisades home
The father drove through his neighborhood and posted photos of the damage on Facebook
‘I am used to this situation abroad; I have been all over the world for 30 years. I’ve seen the worst the world has to offer, but my neighbors aren’t ready for this. My family is not ready for this,” he said.
‘I’m happy that our house is standing. We have something to come back to, but this is a blighted neighborhood.”
Another man who battled the Los Angeles wildfire with a garden hose to save his home said, “Some things in life are worth fighting for.”
John Carr, 65, ignored evacuation warnings to stay behind and save the inherited home his parents built in Palisades.
He jumped fences, hurting a rib, as the flames entered his backyard and moved closer to his home.
Carr grabbed his garden hose to put out the fires at the scene and stayed awake “all night and all day” to prevent the blaze.
‘The house was built by my mother and father in 1960 and I have lived here all my life, so there are many memories here. And I think I owed it to them too to do my best to make it,” said the brave former pilot.
“Some things in life are worth fighting for, you know. If I lost this house it would be very difficult to build a new house and pay the huge property taxes they have here. What would I do?’
Another man fought the Los Angeles wildfire with a garden hose to save his home (photo)
It stands in stark contrast to its neighbors’ homes, which are nothing but a pile of ash and ruins
Firefighters have been working tirelessly since Tuesday to tame the infernos – before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward some of the city’s most famous landmarks.
The Santa Ana winds that have fueled the fires are expected to strengthen on Sunday and continue into next week, raising fears of further destruction.
So far, the fires in California have killed at least 16 people and destroyed an estimated 29,000 hectares of land, 10,000 homes and other structures.
They have also caused about $57 billion in economic damage and forced 180,000 people to evacuate.