Recent California transplants lose Las Vegas home in Independence Day blaze
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A south Las Vegas valley family had less than a month in their new home when it caught on fire overnight displacing them.
Fireworks are suspected to have caused the fire, which was one of hundreds of calls Clark County firefighters responded to on the Fourth of July.
Neighbors shared a video with 8 News Now of the fire consuming the home located near Southern Highland Parkway and Valley View Boulevard. It shows flames shooting from the roof.
Edgar and Vanessa Sesma said they were at the house hours before the blaze happened.
“My daughter had stayed over the night, and she mentioned that the heat of the fire woke her because the alarms didn’t go off yet,” Vanessa Sesma said.
They spoke on behalf of Edgar’s brother who lived at the house with his wife and four kids and was too distraught to speak on camera after the fire left them with nothing.
“They didn’t have shoes on. My brother didn’t have a shirt on because it was just ‘wake up, go outside.’ And a couple of minutes later the house was completely on fire,” Edgar Sesma said.
More than 35 firefighters responded to the two-story house located on the 11000 block of Royal Highland Street at 12:30 a.m.
(Photos: Edgar Sesma)
(Photos: Edgar Sesma)
(Photos: Edgar Sesma)
(Photos: Edgar Sesma)
The Sesma’s said they were lighting fireworks in front of the home but they stayed on the ground.
Yet, neighbors told 8 News Now otherwise, saying they saw some shoot up in the air.
At this time, however, firefighters haven’t determined how the fire started or what may have caused it.
“They just can’t believe what happened. All of their hard work, all the stuff they had just gone,” Edgar Sesma said.
The family was so new to the house, having lived there for less than a month, that they didn’t have renters insurance.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Sesma family out, click here.
Vanessa Sesma said she thanks the landlord of the house, who is allowing the family to live at another property without paying rent for the time being until they get back on their feet.
Source: KLAS - 8 News Now
