Wedding ring found in rubble caused by the California wildfires
LOS ANGELES (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - With thousands of homes burned in the Palisades and Eaton Fire, so many families have lost so much, but with help from a few firefighters, one Altadena family was reunited with one of their most prized possessions.
These concrete steps are the only recognizable feature of what used to be Victoria Desantis' home.
"We've never run into this trouble," Desantis expressed.
When the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena last week, it burned her house and most of the block she's lived on for 18 years.
"For us, we make a right turn up Olive and just to start the street there's just nothing there. The house we used to call the sprinkle house was gone. The house with the great fence was gone. It's just like you couldn't believe what you were seeing," Desantis shared.
Desantis' family lost so much, but amazingly, a day after the fire, firefighters found a symbol of love amidst the destruction.
"The firefighters had said, 'Where is it?' I said, 'It's right by the front door,'" Desantis detailed.
As she rushed to evacuate early Wednesday, Desantis placed her wedding ring and wedding band near the front door.
"I took off all of my rings because it was so dry, I just kept putting hand lotion on and my rings were starting to slide off and I thought 'I don't need to look for that if the power goes off. I'll just set it by the front door with my keys so I can grab it on the way out,'" Desantis disclosed.
Sadly, she didn't grab the rings on the way out. So after her home burned, she returned on a mission.
"So I just asked these firefighters if they wouldn't mind helping me find my ring," Desantis spoke.
Desantis thinks she found a piece of her melted wedding ring, and the firefighters found something too.
"They're like hands and knees digging through the ash, and the guy says, 'I found a ring, but it's not gold,' and I said 'Oh my God, that's my wedding band.' I could not for the life of me believe that this little tiny thing was found amongst ashes and debris," Desantis added.
After a week filled with so much loss, she'll hang onto this wedding band forever.
"I guess to me it's just a symbol of our family. It's our love. We lost everything. But we have each other," Desantis further expressed.
They have each other and this symbol of love and resilience in a dark time.
Sadly, they are still looking for Desantis's mom's wedding ring that she says is still in the rubble.
Victoria's husband was out of state at the time of the fire, so he learned their home burned from afar. But they're family is safe and that is what is most important, and they're so thankful to have this wedding band after such a scary and heartbreaking night.
