SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (KABC) — When the Norte Fire broke out Friday morning in Orange County, Justin Ziegler and his father spotted the flames from afar. When they saw it approaching the homes, they took action.
“It looks like a scene from a movie. There’s fire everywhere,” Ziegler said.
He and his father urged a family to leave, who were still scrambling to collect last-minute items from their home.
“The kid didn’t want to move. He was kind of staring out the door into what looked like a hellscape. Just his world on fire. I kind of guided the kid and helped him get into his car. She dropped some of her things on the ground and I helped her pick them up and pushed them into the car and we left.”
This same neighbor shared an image of the raging fire encroaching on her yard before escaping the danger with Ziegler.
When asked by Eyewitness News why he put himself in danger, Ziegler responded, “I wouldn’t necessarily call it danger, I would just say it’s the right thing to do.”
“I think the important thing is we need to be kind to each other. We need to be kind to each other.”
Doorbell camera video shows another neighbor, Ephraim Taylor, rushing to collect water to throw on an active flame.
“We’re lucky there’s still water. If there hadn’t been water, it would have been a serious problem,” Taylor said.
Now that evacuation orders have been lifted, residents are confronting what the fire left behind.
Jessie Ewell spotted several homes marked red, including one that was burned to the ground. His own house was spared.
“Obviously you feel really bad for your neighbors and stuff like that… It’s devastating.
A total of seven homes were severely damaged or destroyed near San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano.
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