A Year Later: Heroic Filipino American family recalls the California wildfire

COURTESY OF ROBLES FAMILY

The Robles family: Alica Tanael, Yoehan, Cristaly and Charlie.

A YEAR after the devastating wildfires that swept through northern California's wine country, neighborhoods are slowly starting to rebuild their homes from the ashes. 

Residents are also rebuilding their lives including the Robles family: Charlie, Cristalyn, their 7-year-old son, Yoehan, and his grandmother, Alicia Tanael. 

The heroism of the Filipino American family was recounted by a KQED podcast. The Robles family lived at a care facility where they cared for the four wheelchair-bound  elderly residents.

Charlie and Cristalyn Robles were awaken around 1 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2017. Charlie answered it and the only word he heard was "Evacuate!"

He and his wife looked outside of the home in the city of Santa Rosa, smack dab in the middle of the picturesque Sonoma Valley. "We saw the bright mountain, and we knew it was fire approaching,” recalls Charlie.

He loaded up each resident, and each family member -- including 7-year old Yoehan -- pushed a wheelchair out to the road.

Embers were flying everywhere, the wind whipping fast, the flames edging just feet from the assisted living home. Charlie loaded up each resident into their wheelchair and pushed the Robles wheelchairs out to the road.

With three residents on the roadside, there was still one more resident left inside: 76-year old retired CalFire Captain Ferrol Mead.

It never occurred to the Robles to just save themselves. The elderly residents were just as important to them.

“We wanted to save lives together,” Cristalyn says. “We would go together, alive.” 

Charlie went back inside.

Read the rest of the harrowing story or listen to the podcast by clicking here.

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