2/2
OnFriday afternoon, the trio were still working relentlessly to put out firesin the nearby homes, craning over walls to shoot water at the source, clouds of smoke radiating off, stinging eyeballs.
A few doors down from them is what has been described as the last standing house in Malibu.
The survival of the $9 million property, which belongs to David Steiner, a retired waste management tycoon originally from Texas, had been put down to its fire- resistant materials.
But Mr Colbert said he and the Griffithses had been keeping an eye on it, and doused it in water when the porch caught fire.
Mr Griffiths bought his property in 2005 and the family moved in in 2009.
They tried to fireproof it at the time, building sprinklers in the roof and using cement tiles instead of wood.
Mr Griffiths, who is also a doctor to the LA Kings hockey team, saidif one thing can come from the devastating tragedy, he wants people to get to know their neighbours.
“We were only able to do this because we’re a tight-knit community,”he said.
“This whole thing is a f—ing tragedy, beyond apocalyptic proportions. I’m so sad. I’m very sad for everyone that is so impacted, their families, their lives, their livelihoods, their history, all going… it’s cataclysmic for those people… I mean, I don’t know what to say.
“I’m happy that it turned out OK for us, but it may not have happened. I made a video on the first night of our home, recording memories in each room,” he added.
Neighbour’s precious memories of late son saved
Kathy Eldon, who runs Creative Visions Foundation, a non-profit enterprise, was among the handful of neighbours whose homes were saved by the three men.
When she evacuated, she didn’t have time to pick up the journals written by her late son, Dan Eldon, a British photo-journalist who was killed in Somalia in 1993, and she feared they would be lost forever.
Ms Eldon said she felt “survivor’s guilt” because her home is still standing, but through her foundation she is determined to “turn all the horror into something really good”.
For the others, what has taken place hasn’t quite sunk in yet.
“When I’ve got time I think I’ll be emotional,” Mr Colbert said.
For the rest of the weekend, Mr Griffiths will be “on duty” – wearing his fireman’s braces and protecting his and his neighbours’ homes.
On Monday, he will return to the day job as a brain surgeon.
https://archive.is/6AatJ