Avoca man Kevin Kinsella and his family have been left devastated after losing their home to wild fires this week in California.
Kevin his wife Emily and their 3 children live in Happy Camp, Indian Creek in Northern California, earlier this week Emily and the children evacuated the family home soon followed by Kevin as the fires got closer to their home which was eventually engulfed.
The fires have left two dead in the Happy Camp area as well as pets and wildlife.
The Kinsella family are also missing their two dogs that jumped from Kevin’s jeep while he stopped to help people as he was evacuating.
The family are currently staying with relatives in Redding almost 200 miles away from their home.
Division Chief of the U.S Forest Service Mario Gomes said ” The Slater Fire initial attack was hands down the toughest fire fight I have ever been in, I arrived at the lookout at around 7.30 am to rescue our employee and by 9.30 am I had fire rolling through houses and blowing across Indian Creek like a freight train.
I have been the ops chief on many recent catastrophic fires like the Carr fire and the Mendocino complex but being the IC and ops chief on a fire that burned through my home town, the place I was born and raised in and have been a fire-fighter in for 22 years was an experience, I can’t even begin to explain to you.
It was like we were all in a bad dream and couldn’t seem to wake up.”
Speaking to Wicklownews.net Kevin’s sister Kalinda said “We are at our wits end and feel so helpless, the only saving grace is they are alive, but have lost everything, Emily told us people in the area believe they have seen the dogs so hopefully they have not been lost to the fire.”
Friends of the family have started a GoFundme campaign to help them.
Monies will go towards temporary housing, clothes, food, care, and necessities for a young boy, his baby sisters, and his mom and dad; and eventually towards a rebuilding of their lives.
