A California dad who attempted to save his home from flames before the water supply ran out has criticized the leadership for failing them.

Blake Mallen, a homeowner, spent nearly two days trying to prevent his home from being consumed by flames.

A California dad who attempted to save his home from flames before the water supply ran out has criticized the leadership for failing them.
A California dad who attempted to save his home from flames before the water supply ran out has criticized the leadership for failing them.

A California father of two who lost his home to wildfires on Jan. 8 is demanding significant changes in leadership "that utterly failed" the state's residents during the crisis.

"Blake Mallen stated, "I feel betrayed by the leadership and systems that failed me, leaving me with a deep sense of disappointment, anger, and frustration. My whole life's work was dedicated to doing what was right, and now I feel like I was let down by those very systems.""

As flames approached his Pacific Palisades home, Mallen, a 44-year-old entrepreneur and lifelong California resident, ensured the safety of his wife and children, ages 6 and 9, by evacuating with them before staying behind to attempt to save his home.

On January 7th, Mallen made an effort to remove his family's cherished belongings from the house and do his best to prepare it for the approaching fires.

"It is the trust in the leadership and the systems that absolutely failed us"

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California father of 2 who lost everything in wildfires calls for change
Blake Mallen and his family
Blake Mallen, a 44-year-old entrepreneur and lifelong California resident, made sure his wife and children, ages six and nine, evacuated safely before he stayed behind to try and save his Pacific Palisades home as flames began to reach his neighborhood. (Handout)

"We filled every sink, got all the towels, and placed them under the doors. We pulled out the hoses. We put out the fire extinguishers," Mallen told Planet Chronicle Digital. "We did everything. We started getting all the things that would be hard to replace."

Mallen and Alex spent several hours setting up "hot spots" around their homes using garden houses and buckets.

A fire in Mallen's neighborhood
Mallen and his neighbor spent hours trying to put out "hot spots" in their neighborhood themselves using garden hoses and buckets. (Handout)

In the darkness, the fires and wind intensified, approaching Mallen's neighborhood.

"Nighttime came, and it started to turn to Armageddon." — Blake Mallen

"Clearly, the darkness engulfed everything, making the flames appear like a fiery inferno," Mallen recounted. "I observed the flames ascend the mountain and the entire canyon before leaping across it."

Fires over mountains near Mallen's neighborhood
As night fell, the fires and wind grew stronger, and Mallen watched as they neared his neighborhood in the dark. (Handout)

The fires became "apocalyptic" with the winds blowing strongly in every direction, according to Mallen.

"It was a firestorm," he said.

In the early hours of Jan. 8, the fire ran out of water, so they filled buckets with neighbors' pool water to fight the flames. There were no firefighters in the neighborhood at the time.

Fire engulfs a house
Eventually, water ran out in the very early hours of Jan. 8, so they began filling buckets with neighbors' pool water to fight the falling embers and flames. There were no firefighters in the neighborhood at the time. (Handout)

At 3 a.m. on Jan. 8, Mallen ran away from his neighborhood in search of firefighters due to desperation. He found three fire engines parked on the side of the road and knocked on their windows. When Mallen got the attention of one of the firefighters, he was told that they, too, were out of water.

"Firefighters and engines were dispatched to the site, ready to fight the fire. However, Mallen stated that it was not their fault as they were trained people and heroes."

Despite feeling defeated, Mallen and Alex persisted in putting out fires with pool water in their neighborhood.

Blake Mallen poses with his wife and children on the beach.
Blake Mallen poses with his wife and children on the beach. (Handout)

The next morning, they believed they had weathered the worst of it. Mallen called his family to inform them that he believed he had saved his home. However, while walking down his street, Mallen noticed a house four doors away from his, smoking from the attic. This, he said, was a clear indication that the house was about to catch fire.

An attic fire eventually broke out, spreading to neighboring houses including Mallen's.

Eventually, the 44-year-old saw a firetruck on his street and pleaded with the men inside to help him put out the flames that he believed were about to consume his home.

Firemen put out a fire on Mallen's street
The 44-year-old eventually saw a firetruck driving on his street and "begged" the men inside to help him put out the flames that he was sure were about to engulf his home. (Handout)

"I pleaded with them, stating, 'This is my house right here. This house is on fire, and we must stop it immediately because if it continues, my house and the street will burn.' ... They listened to my plea." - Mallen

The firefighters who assisted Mallen put forth a heroic effort with only half a tank of water in their engine.

"Mallen described the most inspiring, ultimate stand of the fire crew, which resembled a movie scene of heroism. The fire crew used chainsaws to cut down a hedge line between houses, physically pulling out trees to stop the jump. They lined up the fire and the giant cannon hose in between, waiting to protect the job."

A firefighter in Mallen's home
Mallen said the firefighters who stopped to help him put on a heroic effort with half-a-tank of water in the engine they used to help him. (handout)

Despite Mallen's efforts and the firefighters' brave work, the fire eventually reached his attic because there was not enough water to stop it from growing.

Mallen and his family lost their seven-year-old, fully paid-off home.

"Had that hydrant had water, my house would have been saved. Had the trucks had water, the house, the street never would've caught fire." — Blake Mallen

"We were on limited rotating water, so it wasn't a perpetual stream. There's a hydrant right across from my house, 20 feet away. If the hydrant had water, my house would have been saved. The trucks didn't have water, so the house and street never caught fire. The firefighters were saying the entire time that they needed water to put out the fire."

Mallen's destroyed home
Mallen and his family lost their home of seven years, which was fully paid off. (Handout)
Mallen's destroyed back patio
Mallen said State Farm dropped his coverage in September. (handout)

Gov. Gavin Newsom's office on Jan. 10 released a letter stating that water hydrants running out of water was an issue in the initial response, despite overall water supply in Southern California not being a problem.

"The lack of water pressure at local fire hydrants and the unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir during the fires is concerning to me and the community, and we require explanations for how this occurred."

The governor announced an investigation into the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) by the governor.

In September, State Farm dropped Mallen from their insurance coverage, he stated.

Mallen stated, "I am the embodiment of the American dream, an entrepreneur who worked tirelessly to achieve financial freedom and provide a secure home for my family. Despite this, I lacked the necessary protection and security for both my family and my life's work."

State Farm declined to comment on Planet Chronicle Digital's request.

A destoyed home in Mallen's neighborhood.
A destroyed home in Mallen's neighborhood. (Handout)

Despite paying taxes for decades as a lifelong Californian, Mallen noted that Californians pay an exorbitant amount of taxes and yet, they cannot even have water in their own hoses to protect their own homes.

Mallen stated that he is speaking out to reveal his story, which he believes represents the experiences of thousands of families who lost everything due to California wildfires. He aims to highlight this shared story in order to bring about necessary change.

The Mallen family's destroyed back patio.
The Mallen family's destroyed back patio. (Handout)

"The community that comes together to rebuild the homes destroyed by the wildfire will be more powerful than the fire itself," he said.

Blake and his wife are being helped by a GoFundMe titled "Mallen Family Restart" started by Mallen's family members to rebuild after the devastation.

Over 40,600 acres have been burned and more than 12,300 structures were destroyed in the fires as of Friday morning. At least 27 people have been confirmed to have been killed in the blaze, though that number could rise as dozens are still missing.

by Audrey Conklin

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