Devastation from California wildfires hits home for Milwaukee woman

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) --- Patty Checa says just days after spending the holidays with family in California, she got word of the raging wildfires and immediately began to worry about her family there.

"All of my family is in California. I'm the only one here in Milwaukee," she said. Patty's mom lives near the border of Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades.

"My mom was like it's so bad and that she could see if from her house," Patty said. Thankfully Patty's mom is okay, and her home was not damaged, but she did have to evacuate the area for a few days.

Patty's brother, Angel Aguilera Jr. lives in Santa Monica about six miles from where the fires hit hard. "I've never seen this. I've been here all my life, and this is the craziest I've ever seen the city. The mountains just get destroyed in two days," he said.

Like others in the area, the fires have left an impact on his day-to-day. "Not even the L.A. riots were this bad. Not even COVID was this bad. This is really ugly," Aguilera said.

He's now focused on helping as many people as he can, offering up temporary housing in one of his properties.

The Red Cross of Wisconsin has sent volunteers to assist at shelters.