COHASSET, Calif. — The destructive Park Fire has destroyed 569 structures thus far — and that includes homes belonging to firefighters.
A lifetime of memories was reduced to rubble within minutes. That is the reality Daniel Figaratto, his wife Heather and their four kids, with one on the way, are facing. Their Cohasset dream home turned into ruins.
“You never think your house is going to burn down in the wildland fire,” Figaratto said. “It was heartbreaking. “You kind of anticipate the worst, but I was hoping for the best.”
The Air Force Veteran and Beale Fire and Emergency Services battalion chief was on vacation at home and was afraid the family would not have gotten out in time if he were not there.
Some families who lost their home didn't have home insurance, but the Figaratto did. However, the decision to rebuild is still not an easy one.
“I do not think I want to put my kids through that trauma. We are probably going to call it quits and maybe just keep the property, but buy a house somewhere else,” Figaratto said.
Hundreds of homes burned down to their foundation can be seen around the Park Fire perimeter, and Figaratto is not the only firefighter forced to pick up the pieces.
Father and son firefighters, David and Jonathan Tehan, returned to find some valuables untouched by the blaze. While they battled to protect the town of Cohasset, their own homes were lost to the flames.
“Just look at it and it looks overwhelming,” David Tehan said. “We are just taking a beating right now, but we are going to do something. I do not know what though, but we are going to do something.“
Through the devastation, there is a little bit of good news that keeps survivors like Figaratto going. As everything around it burned, their chicken coop survived.
“I was baffled,” Figaratto said. “It is completely odd. I was like OK, God, I guess you had a plan for that one.”
Cohasset is community that has lost a lot, but its heart continues to beat as the Park Fire becomes the fourth largest wildfire in state history.
Many people still have not been allowed back onto their property as utility crews work to restore power and powerlines.
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