Hacienda Heights family try to recover after home destroyed possibly by fireworks

HACIENDA HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A family in Hacienda Heights struggles to recover after a Fourth of July fire left their home in ruins.

All six people inside the home escaped unharmed when the blaze erupted, but it destroyed the garage and upstairs bedrooms.

"I heard my wife yell the garage is on fire. Apparently one of the neighbors had come up and beat on the door. Four cars - they're a total loss," Joseph Lopez said.

A witness believes illegal fireworks in the neighborhood are to blame. A nearby resident watching the fire stepped in to care for the family's pets.

"I think she put up you know several hundred dollars to get them emergency doctors to work on them. So she's been amazing. She started a GoFundMe page," Joseph said.

It turns out Cindy Shae was returning a favor. The Lopez family found her lost dog a little more than a month ago, but they had never met in person.

"Watching the flames go up, I just imagined my own home - my own family pets being inside. The most interesting part is I never saw the family suffering from material things," Shae said.

Joseph said there were five cats in the home, but one of them did not make it. The Lopez family said they are grateful to have fire insurance to recover most of what they lost, but some things are irreplaceable.

"Memorabilia from our dads, they were both serviceman. The flags that were on their coffins burned, so some tough things like that," Joseph said.

Still, they said their faith and church family are helping them focus on the good in all of this.

"I know with the grace of God that's why we're here today and the good Samaritan across the street who actually came pounding on our doors," Sandy Lopez said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.