EAST BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A family in East Bakersfield lost their home and beloved dog in a fire on the Fourth of July. In the aftermath, they say they're still trying to comprehend the tragedy.
- Video shows the aftermath of a Fourth of July house fire where a family says they lost everything, including their beloved dog, Pixie.
- In the late hours of the Fourth of July, the Garcia family says they noticed their back garage was on fire. In the next few hours, they say their lives were forever changed.
- The Garcia family's home was one of eight significant fires that city fire officials say they responded to on the holiday. While BFD says the official cause is still under investigation, they believe it's possible a firework started it.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A day of celebration turned into a night of chaos in East Bakersfield. Officials say two homes next door to each other were destroyed on the Fourth of July, likely from a firework.
“I just remember calling my dog, like, ‘Pixie, Pixie come out,’ and she wouldn’t come out,” Karissa Garcia said.
Garcia and her family’s lives were forever changed this July 4th.
“The fire started…it started in the back garage, I would say in the backyard,” Garcia said.
After celebrating Independence Day with family, Garcia says her family came home just after 10:00 p.m. Not even an hour later, everything changed.
“It looked like hell. I looked behind me and there was fire everywhere,” Garcia says that’s when the chaos began.
“I remember the cement being so hot [that] my feet were burnt," Garcia said. "That’s when all of the neighbors, like, neighbors that I’ve never seen before were here telling us to get out of the house.”
In a panic, she says she tried to grab both of her dogs and bring them away from the home, but Garcia said one dog, Pixie, was scared and ran back inside.
"She ran back inside and went to hide under the back of the sofa. We were calling her to come out, and she wouldn’t come out at all," Garcia said. "I know I heard her crying, like, during the fire I heard her cry.”
In a moment, the home that Karissa shared with her Mom, sister, and young niece and nephews for six years was gone, including memories of lost loved ones.
“I lost everything that I had left of him,” she said.
City fire officials say the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, but they believe it's possible a firework caused it. On the holiday, Bakersfield Fire Department says they responded to 56 fires within the city, eight of which were of what they call "great significance," like Garcia's home.
“All the pictures, all the clothes that we had left are gone. We lost everything," Garcia said. "We don’t have anything to our names anymore. Everything’s just gone.”
The family says they are raising money to find a new place to live through this donation link.
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