Firefighters helped give a Camarillo woman and her husband a glimmer of hope after a wildfire left them homeless and nearly killed.
Aria Phillips recently returned to the ashes and rubble of the Camarillo home she lived in with her husband, Sal, for two years.
On Tuesday, she was building a life inside the house, and on Wednesday, she was fighting for her life to get outside.
Shortly after the fire spread to Highway 118, Alia tried to evacuate as flames approached her home, but she was stopped.
“I was really scared when the firefighters came and told me it was safer to stay home than to run because there were fires all over the road,” Alia told KTLA’s Angeli Kakade.
After a few minutes, she was told it was time to escape.
“I drive a Prius Prime, and that car saved my life. I drove through the fire,” Aria said. “There were signs of fire on the road.”
A video taken by a neighbor minutes before Alia managed to make her way down the narrow road shows how close the flames were.
“So I was just praying that God would get me through it.”
Alia’s prayers were answered and she reached a safe place where she was reunited with her husband.
“I said, ‘Baby, it looks like the house is on fire,'” Aria said of arriving at Sal. “He just said, ‘Home doesn’t matter, what matters is that you’re here.'”
And amidst the pile of ashes that was once their home, a glimmer of hope emerges. Firefighters did everything in their power to locate and bring back her wedding ring.
“The odds of finding it were probably lower than finding a needle in a haystack. And the fact that we were able to go to them and help them was probably the worst thing in their lives. “It’s something that brings them a little joy that will take us with them forever,” said Nevada State Fire Marshal Kevin May.
The Philip family tries to find meaning in the ruins, but Aria says, “And we can rebuild a beautiful home here and make more memories as a family again,” and they realize they have a future together. He says he is grateful.
Friends of the newlyweds have set up a GoFundMe to help them rebuild.
The Cal Fire Foundation plans to distribute cash cards to an estimated 130 residents who lost their homes.
For more information on how you can help, please visit Cafirefoundation.Org.
