Susan Salser, 85, looked out her kitchen window on Jan. 7 and saw fast moving flames and clouds of smoke approaching his Pacific Palisades home.
Instead of packing up and evacuating, Susan and her husband, Winston Salser, 86, decided to stay where they were and protect their home from the inferno.
“I really feel safer here,” Salser told ABC Los Angeles’ KABC.
Susan Sasler talks to KABC about the recent fires in LA County near her home.
KABC
The couple grabbed garden hoses, Susan at one end of the house and Winston at the other, and fought to keep the fire from reaching their home.
The Salsers’ house is one of only three in their neighborhood still standing.
“I thought I was going to lose both of them, I actually thought I did when I saw the coverage,” said the couple’s son, Mark Salser.
When asked how his elderly parents were able to protect themselves from the fire, Mark Salser answered “Teacity”.
It is not the first time that the Salsers have prevented their house from burning down: they both saved it from another fire almost 50 years ago, in 1978.
Susan Sasler talks to KABC about the recent fires in LA County near her home.
KABC
But the couple doesn’t take all the credit for saving their home. Susan Salser said the 100 oak trees her husband planted in their yard beforehand helped prevent the fire from reaching their front porch.
Mark Salser said he wasn’t sure if his parents’ decision was “the wise thing to do,” but praised their efforts to protect their home.
“You build a life, it’s hard to imagine how you leave it,” said Mark Salser.
Winston Salser suffered burns to his arms and legs from fighting the fire and will be hospitalized for a week. As for Susan Salser, she’s still at home, in what she calls “heaven,” even though she’s now without water and power.
A swimming pool sits among burned homes and burned cars amid the wreckage of the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates in Los Angeles on January 13, 2025.
Agustin Paullier/AFP via Getty Images
“I’m staying here. Whether as a human or as ash, I don’t know, but so far it’s as a human,” said Susan Salser.
At least 25 people have died as of Wednesday and 82,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation due to the fires.
The Palisades Fire has so far burned more than 23,000 acres, destroyed more than 5,000 structures and is 19% contained. The Eaton Fire also continues to burn through communities, destroying more than 7,000 structures, making it the second most destructive wildfire in California history.
