A family in Los Angeles’ Palisades Highlands has shared an inspiring story this week about how they used some everyday tools—a swimming pool, generator, sprinkler, pump, and fire hose—to protect their home from raging wildfires that have destroyed thousands of properties.
The system they used? Simple, cost-effective, and easy to operate! According to their Instagram post, shared by user Cali_._love, the family pumped water from their pool and sprayed it on the vegetation surrounding their hillside home, helping to fend off the flames.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that this setup saved our family home,” Cali_._love wrote. “My dad insisted all the neighbors should have one, and he was right—as always.”
They shared that they spent 10 hours over two days draining two pools—both theirs and their neighbor’s—running their gear to soak the plants and even the roof. The next day, they came back to find the lower half of a palm tree burned and the whole hillside scorched. But thanks to their preparations, the house was still standing.
“Without this, our house—and possibly our neighbors—would be gone,” they said. “Were we lucky? You bet. Were we prepared? Absolutely. Would we do some things differently? For sure.”
Seeing how well their system worked, they’re now “adamant” that every homeowner with a pool should consider using it.
And if you don’t have a pool? Don’t worry—there are other ways to store water and protect your property. They mentioned how they even went around to help their neighbors and family friends, using buckets and their pools to fight the fire. “If they had this system, we would have been 100 times more efficient,” they added.
This story is a powerful reminder that sometimes the simplest solutions can make the biggest difference when disaster strikes. Let’s hope more people take note of how this family’s budget-friendly, prepared approach helped them beat the odds!
