Home | News | How Older American Couple Saved Their Homes During The Fires

How Older American Couple Saved Their Homes During The Fires

Couple in their 80s defend their homes from the Palisades conflagrations with garden hoses

Susan Salser, 85, and her husband, Winston Salser, 86, used garden hoses to fight the Palisades Fire. January 15, 2025 (Photo: Screenshot/ABC news)

9 Views

By Akerele Christabel

January 23, 2025
5:41 pm
Los Angeles, CA

The new year in Southern California got off to a devastating start. A series of destructive wildfires swept through the region, leaving a charred expanse of land where hundreds of attractive houses once stood. The fires were fueled by a combination of drought, high winds, and an unprecedented heatwave. One could also factor in the deliberate actions of arsonists who hoped to take advantage of the disaster. These factors ensured the blazes spread quickly, engulfing thousands of acres and forcing residents to evacuate in their hundreds of thousands. 85-year old Susan Salser watched a deadly wall of the Palisades fire approach her home from her kitchen window. Working in concert with her 86-year old husband, Winston, she managed to fend off the fire from chewing up her home. Their

85-year old Susan Salser watched a deadly wall of the Palisades fire approach her home from her kitchen window. Working in concert with her 86-year old husband, Winston, she managed to fend off the fire from chewing up her home. Their home remains one of only three still standing at the top of their Pacific Palisades street.

“I genuinely feel safer up here. I don’t think you can understand that, but I do…I used the hose to control the ground fire and stop that end of the house from burning. I wasn’t sure where Winston was. I couldn’t contact him, but it turned out he was at the south end of the house doing the same thing. Using a hose to keep the flames from touching the house,” Susan told Eyewitness News.

Winston was injured fighting the fire with his garden hose, suffering burns on his arms and legs that will keep him in the hospital for a week. However, his wife is optimistic about his health and her safety in her home, which overlooks a burnt and smoking wilderness. Even without running water or electricity, she revealed she has no plans to join the wave of evacuation.

“This is heaven for me, this location. I’m almost 85 years old and the remodel of this house was my job that I completed 12 years ago, and here I stay. Whether it’s as a human being or ashes I do not know, but so far it’s as a human being,” said Susan.

Beyond fighting the fire themselves, Susan and Winston Salser credit the nearly 100 live oak trees that Winston planted in their backyard to help prevent their home from catching fire.

The couple’s son, Mark Salser, who lives outside Seattle, feared the worst when he saw the coverage of the fires in his parents’ neighborhood. He knew his parents were not likely to evacuate, even if their home was encircled by the fires.

“I thought I was going to lose them both. I actually thought that I had when I was seeing the coverage,” Mark said.

He believes his parents’ tenacity and adaptability saved their home, and maybe, their lives.

“You build a life, it’s hard to imagine how you leave that. I don’t know that that’s a wise thing to do,” Mark added.

Los Angeles wildfires: In an aerial view, destroyed homes are seen along the beach as the Palisades Fire continued to burn on January 09, 2025 in Malibu, California. (Photo: livemint.com)

In a scene out of Hollywood, another older American, John Carr, ignored the evacuation directive to stay behind and fight off the flames threatening to devour the house he inherited from his parents in Palisades. John leapt over fences, hurting a rib in the process, stayed awake “all night and day” fending off the fires with his garden hose.

‘The house was built by my mother and father in 1960 and I lived here my whole life so there’s a lot of memories here. And I think I owed it to them as well to try my best to save it,’ the brave former pilot said.

‘Some things in life are worth fighting for, you know. If I were to lose this house, it would be very difficult to afford to build a new house, to pay the enormous property taxes they have here. What would I do?’ John added.

While the Salsers and John managed to stay safe and alive, another 80-year old was not so lucky. Mark Shterenberg, 80, worked hard to provide for his family before dying during the Palisades Fire last week, according to his granddaughter.

Shterenberg’s family purchased their Pacific Palisades home in 1993 six years after emigrating from the defunct Soviet Union to Chicago. He was one of at least 27 wildfire victims, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

On January 7, Bedi called and texted Shterenberg about the fires, knowing he wouldn’t want to evacuate. Shterenberg, who was alone in his home, didn’t respond.

Around 9:30 p.m., Shterenberg texted his wife saying their street was still safe. Two hours later, Shterenberg texted a friend saying the fire was now on their street.

Bedi filed a missing person report the next day. On January 11, she was notified remains were found in the house, right next to Shterenberg’s glasses.

“When I got the news, I think I realized like how much hope I had been holding out that he was still alive and was like somewhere in a shelter or hospital,” Bedi said. “It’s just one of the worst pains I’ve ever felt.”

Shterenberg appeared tough on the outside but was the “biggest teddy bear of a person” on the inside. His motto was “study math, keep money in the bank and do three good things every day,” his granddaughter shared.

An estimated 25 people have died as of Wednesday while 82,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation because of the wildfires. The Palisades Fire has so far eaten up more than 23,000 acres, destroyed over 5,000 structures and is 19% contained. The Eaton Fire also continues to burn through communities, destroying over 7,000 structures, making it the second-most destructive fire in California history.