ALTADENA, Calif. — Steve Peterson watched flames leap near his home, just a block away, on the border of Altadena and Pasadena. “It’s hell, really,” he remarked, attempting to laugh at the dire situation. Strong winds had just toppled a tree onto his truck as he returned home, prompting him to drench his house and extinguish a small fire in his backyard caused by burning leaves. “I was just trying to manage the branches in the front yard,” Peterson said, with a thick smoke filling the air and flames still lurking down the street.

It seemed as though the flames arbitrarily chose which houses to consume. Some homes burned, while others remained untouched. Peterson, who has lived in his house for 18 years, has decided to stay, even as many neighbors evacuated and fire officials advised him to leave. He told a YSL News reporter that he intends to remain “until it’s all over.” Nearby, firefighters and local residents banded together, dousing flames with hoses and buckets, with even kids pitching in by collecting water from the street. Homeowners worked tirelessly to soak down their roofs.

While some homes were completely engulfed, firefighters continued to navigate through the area, extinguishing spot fires. “If it weren’t for the winds, this situation wouldn’t have escalated so quickly,” Peterson remarked.

The situation became increasingly dire further north, where entire rows of houses were reduced to ashes. Burned-out vehicles lay scattered, and power lines hung precariously across the streets.