A Texas family faces devastating loss in the California wildfires. Amid tragedy, they are encouraging people to donate to victims, especially uninsured families.
DALLAS — When Christopher Fordinal and his family moved from the Dallas area to Altadena, California, they never imagined their lives would change in an instant. The Eaton wildfire in Los Angeles County swept through their neighborhood, leaving nothing but foundations and chimneys.
For Fordinal, he stayed awake to keep an eye on where the fires were spreading. While his wife and two young daughters were asleep, he started smelling smoke. “I drove up the hill directly above us and about three streets up from us, I discovered the fire jumped to the houses above us,” said Fordinal.
He called his wife and told her to get their daughters in the car to evacuate. The Fordinals scrambled to pack a few belongings—love letters from college, some clothes, and in the rush, even a leaf blower. “At that point, you’re not the most logical,” Fordinal said.
He described returning to the neighborhood the next day as a heartbreaking experience.
“We had to double-check if it was even our street,” he said. “It’s the chimney and nothing else. For all of the homes in our neighborhood, there are no walls. There’s nothing. Everything you’ve ever owned. It’s just a foundation and a chimney.”
Video footage captured by Fordinal shows streets unrecognizable, where every familiar landmark was reduced to rubble.
“Multiple streets, every coffee shop we’ve gone to is just down to the ground,” Fordinal said. “Not even fair.”
Despite the overwhelming loss, Fordinal counts himself fortunate. “I have fire insurance,” he said. “My family is safe and the overwhelming outpouring of my local church and my coworkers and my family.”
However, Fordinal is worried about all his neighbors who aren’t covered by fire insurance.
“State Farm dropped 72,000 Californians from fire insurance in the last year,” he said. “I know people who lost their coverage just five days before the fire.”
As a board member of Serve Ministries, Fordinal is directing donations to families impacted by the fires. “Every penny that goes to Serve Ministries will go to the families affected by this fire,” he said.
While people can donate to Serve Ministries, Fordinal said countless organizations are helping victims, and he encourages people to give immediately and long-term. He also urges people to continue checking in with survivors even months and years down the line.