A California father of two who lost his home in wildfires on January 8th is calling for major changes in leadership who have “absolutely failed” the state's residents in crisis.
“Right now, in the back of my mind, I wonder if it wasn't just my house that burned down, but my life's work that burned down. It's the leadership and the system that completely failed us. “Belief in,” Blake Mullen said. “…There’s a part of me that’s disappointed, disappointed, angry at the system that I’ve spent my whole life doing right to get to the point that everyone should get to. Inside, I…failed in leadership.”
Mullen, a 44-year-old entrepreneur and lifelong California resident, made sure his wife and children, ages 6 and 9, were safely evacuated before staying behind to save his Pacific Palisades home as flames began to reach his neighborhood. I confirmed that it was.
On January 7, Mullen moved family memorabilia out of the house and prepared everything he could for the impending fire.
“What completely failed us was our faith in our leadership and our faith in the system.”
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Blake Mullen, a 44-year-old entrepreneur and lifelong California resident, stayed behind to protect his Pacific Palisades home as flames began to reach his neighborhood, and his wife and children, ages 6 and 9, were safely evacuated. I confirmed that there is. (Handout)
“We filled all the sinks. [got] I put all my towels under the door. I pulled out the hose. We put out the fire extinguisher,” Mullen told FOX News Digital. We started getting all the…things that are hard to replace. ”
That day, Maren and her neighbor Alex spent hours using garden houses and buckets to eliminate hundreds of “hot spots” around their home.
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Mullen and her neighbors spent hours trying to extinguish the neighborhood's “hot spots” themselves using garden hoses and buckets. (Handout)
As the night wore on, the fire and wind grew stronger, and Mullen watched in the dark as it approached his neighborhood.
“Night came and it started to be Armageddon.”
“Obviously, everything went black. I mean, the flames looked like hell,” Mullen recalled. “And I watched it go up the mountain and all the way up the canyon, and I jumped over the canyon.”
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As the night wore on, the fire and wind grew stronger, and Mullen watched in the dark as it approached his neighborhood. (Handout)
Mullen said strong winds were blowing from all directions, making the fire “apocalyptic.”
“It was a firestorm,” he said.
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Eventually, in the early morning hours of January 8, they ran out of water, so they began filling buckets with water from a nearby pool to combat the falling embers and flames. There were no firefighters nearby at the time.
Eventually, in the early morning hours of January 8, they ran out of water, so they began filling buckets with water from a nearby pool to combat the falling embers and flames. There were no firefighters nearby at the time. (Handout)
“In desperation,” Mullen “started running” from his neighborhood to look for firefighters, and at around 3 a.m. on January 8, he came across three fire engines parked on the side of the road. When Mullen knocked on the window of the truck, one of the firefighters alerted him, and the first responder told Mullen that they too were out of water.
“The firefighters and the fire trucks that were sent to the scene were ready to fight. They were trained people, heroes, ready to go. There was nothing they could have done,” Mullen said. Not,” he added.
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Maren returned to her neighborhood feeling defeated, but she and Alex continued to try to put out the fire with water from the pool.
Blake Mullen poses on the beach with his wife and children. (Handout)
The next morning, they thought the worst was over. Mullen called his family to let them know he thought he had saved the house, but shortly afterwards, as he was walking down the street, he saw a house four doors down from his house smoking in the attic. I realized that I was doing it. That was a telltale sign, Mullen said. A house that looks like it's about to burn down.
The smoke in the attic ended up doing what he had suspected: an attic fire and then a structure fire that spread to other homes in the neighborhood, including Mullen's.
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The 44-year-old eventually saw a fire engine driving down his street and asked the men inside to help extinguish the flames he believed were about to engulf his home. I begged.
The 44-year-old eventually saw a fire engine driving down his street and asked the men inside to help extinguish the flames he believed were about to engulf his home. I begged. (Handout)
“I asked them, 'This is my house. This house is on fire. We have to stop this fire. If this fire goes out, my house will burn and the street 'It's going to burn.' … So I begged them and they listened,” Mullen said.
Firefighters who stopped to help Mullen said they made a heroic effort by filling the engine they used for the rescue with half a tank of water.
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“They took the most emotional, ultimate stance. You can imagine firefighters…It's like a scene from a movie. Heroism,” Mullen said. “They took out chainsaws. They used chainsaws to cut down the hedges between the houses to remove the hedges. They started physically pulling out trees in preparation to stop the jump. In the meantime they were using fire and huge artillery hoses. “We lined up and waited'' to protect our jobs. ”
Firefighters who stopped to help Mullen said they made a heroic effort by filling the engine they used for the rescue with half a tank of water. (Handout)
However, despite Mullen's efforts and the valiant efforts of firefighters to stop and extinguish the blaze, the fire eventually reached the attic. There was nothing anyone could do to stop the fire from spreading as there was not enough water.
Maren and her family lost their home of seven years, which was paid off in full.
“If there had been water in the hydrant, my house would have been saved. If there had been water in the truck, the house and street would never have been on fire.”
“We had a limited amount of rotating water, so it wasn't like it was going to run forever. There's a fire hydrant literally right across from my house, 6 feet away. If the hydrant… Water would have saved my home,” Mullen said. . “If there had been water in the truck, the house and the street would never have been on fire. … That's all the firefighters there said the whole time.”
Maren and her family lost their home of seven years, which was paid off in full. (Handout)
Mullen said State Farm discontinued coverage in September. (Handout)
Gov. Gavin Newsom's office released a letter on January 10 regarding the lack of water at fire hydrants, saying, “While the overall water supply in Southern California was not the problem, the movement of water during the initial response was.”
“Continued reports of a loss of water pressure at some local fire hydrants during the fires and reports that the water supply from the Santa Ynez Reservoir has become unavailable are extremely concerning to me and the community. Yes,” Newsom wrote. “We need answers as to why it happened.”
The governor added that he has launched an investigation into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).
To make matters worse, State Farm removed Mullen from its insurance coverage in September.
“Why am I the American Dream Story, an entrepreneur who works hard to get a family home, pays it off, has no debt, no mortgages…a dream we all dream of? …And I literally had no choice but to protect my family's home and my life's work and make sure it was safe?'' Mullen said.
State Farm did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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A destroyed house in Maren's neighborhood. (Handout)
Mullen said Californians pay “an exorbitant amount of taxes,” which he has paid as a lifelong Californian for decades, but “we're paying a lot less than our homes.” I can’t even fill my own hose with water to protect myself.” .
Mullen said she is speaking out now to share her story on behalf of the thousands of other families who were evacuated and lost everything in the California wildfires. . “We want to shine a spotlight on our story, but we also represent thousands of people in similar situations to create the change that is absolutely necessary,” he said.
The destroyed backyard of the Mullen family. (Handout)
“The only thing stronger than the wildfires that burned thousands of homes and mine is a community coming together to rebuild,” he said.
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Mullen's family has set up a GoFundMe called “Mullen Family Restart'' to help Blake and his wife rebuild after the tragedy.
As of Friday morning, cal fire reported that more than 40,600 acres had been burned and more than 12,300 buildings were destroyed in the fire. At least 27 people are confirmed dead in the fire, but dozens are still missing and the number could rise.
