As Southern California residents continue to recover from the devastating effects of recent wildfires, firefighters were sent on a heartfelt mission to return a beloved item that survived the flames in the Getty Fire.
On Wednesday, a Los Angeles Fire Department crew located a small ring box in front of a charred home that was destroyed in the blaze.
Upon opening the box, firefighters found a beautiful ring encased in a plush, velvet cushion that somehow miraculously survived the flames. Crew members assumed the ring was important to whoever it belonged to and delivered it to the command post for safe keeping.
Several days later, after residents were able to safely return home, firefighters scoured the neighborhood to locate the ring’s owner.
They came to find out the ring survived two separate wildfires that erupted decades apart: the Getty Fire in 2019 and the Bel Air Fire in 1961. The property was among hundreds destroyed in the Bel Air Fire, with the ring the only possession to survive. Years later, the property was rebuilt only to be destroyed in the Getty Fire. The ring survived the flames yet again.
Ironically, the homeowner’s mother, who owned the property when it was first destroyed in the Bel Air Fire, was at the residence last week when they had to evacuate.
Firefighters say the homeowner and her mother are “beyond happy” and “speechless” to have their ring back.
The Getty Fire, which burned across 745 acres, erupted on Oct. 28 in the Brentwood area. Ten homes were destroyed in the blaze and 15 others sustained damage.