KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Community support for the Ewart Family continues, months after the devasting fire destroyed their home.
In the early morning on Tuesday, December 20th, fire destroyed their Valencia home. Six family members were in the house at the time, three were seriously injured and sent to the Grossman Burn Center. David and Michael Ewart were in the most serious condition. David was the final family member to be released from the Grossman Burn Center, weeks after the fire. Since the fire, our Valley has jumped in to assist as the Ewart’s recover. This is the latest update courtesy of neighbors, Josy and Steve Block.
Many people have asked about the status of the burned Ewart home. There is still a lot of debris on the front lawn, and the windows and doors have been boarded shut with “Unsafe to Enter” signs posted. There is still an orange “fence” surrounding the property. Holiday decorations and lights still dot the property’s front lawn. The Ewarts are still receiving bids on the construction and they hope to be able to select the contractor within the next couple of weeks. Within the next several weeks, following the selection of the contractor, the necessary permits will be obtained. Debris will be cleared out, and then the preparations will be made for the house to be razed.
In the meantime, now that David has found a rental home, he has been working hard to move some of the “salvaged” items from the burned home to the rental home. It is a very tedious and painstaking project that can only be done a little at a time. This process has begun with truckloads moving items (i.e. large tools from the garage) from the burned property to the rental property. The garage, where most of the items have been stored, is very moldy. Some items that survived the fire, have been water damaged or are moldy. The odor of smoke still lingers within the neighborhood and can still be smelled from several houses away.
The inside of the home is charred in every nook & cranny. There are pieces of things that survived – part of the fireplace mantles village decorations are still standing – a reminder of the holiday festivities that preceded the December fire. Parts of the floor are missing with huge, gaping holes exposing floor beams beneath. Most items have been burned beyond recognition. An occasional Hart High program, or Music Book was found – burned around the edges, but with some inside pages being partially salvageable. While sifting through some of the piles of burnt ash, David discovered kitchen utensils that melded together to form an almost-artistic creation. Crystal glasses & expensive china were melted and charred. All that remains of a piano are it’s inside skeleton. Surprisingly, there was a single piece of CorningWare that survived unscathed! Ironically, a box of “Lucky Charms” was also recovered. A few partial hippo’s from the beloved collection were found, as well as a piggy bank half full of pennies – some melted together, some ok. We will post a couple of pictures to the website, soon.
The rental home is located in close proximity to David’s Valencia Hills neighborhood. The furniture has been moved in and the family will soon settle in to a routine. Each of the children have their own room – Heather gleefully sports a walk-in closet – every girl’s dream!
Go The Distance
