LA mom feeling blessed despite watching her home burn down in TikTok video while on vacation
A mom feels “blessed” her family is still alive after watching her house burn down on a stranger’s TikTok video while on vacation.Laura Camuglia-Byrnes, 56, was away for a few days at Joshua Tree National Park, California, with her cat and dog, when the wildfires started.Two days into her trip she received a message from her two daughters to say flames at Eaton Canyon from their house and were evacuating their home.Laura knew her neighborhood would be next – and took to TikTok to track the fire.She was horrified when she discovered a stranger’s video which showed her home burning.Former business owner Laura says her entire town has burned down and she has lost everything.Despite the loss, Laura said it is a “miracle” and she is “blessed” that her friends and family are still alive.Laura, a former business owner, said: “I saw a video of my house burning down on TikTok, that was wild.“I am mentally preparing myself for what is going to be there when I get back, for some reason it is hard for me to care about my house when I know my entire town is gone.“I can’t help but feel blessed and lucky that I was alive.“I can’t help but feel blessed that I was able to leave.”Laura was planning on moving to Europe in February so she planned a last-minute trip to Joshua Tree National Park with her dog and cat to get them used to traveling, on January 5, 2024.The night before she was due to arrive back in Altadena she saw the fires in Pacific Palisades.She said: “I then saw home a fire had started in Eaton Canyon which is three miles from my neighborhood.“The moment I saw that message, I checked my phone and saw how my daughters were at home saying they could see the flames from the second floor and they were leaving.“They grabbed three items – a camera bag, passports and my dead dog’s ashes and they left.“Thank God they did, as the minute the fire broke out in Eaton Canyon, I knew the fire was going to go house to house.”Laura had live...