Shadow Hills residents fight off La Tuna Fire that came close to homes

SHADOW HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Residents in a Shadow Hills neighborhood were frightened to see flames from the La Tuna Fire getting close to their homes so they fought off the flames themselves.

"The fire was behind a mountain and we thought it wasn't coming this way," Albert Oganesyan said. "But eventually, what happened, the wind blowed."

Resident Scott Jones and his wife Sharain saw the flames on the hillside behind their home.

The shifting winds caused firefighters to head in another direction and water-dropping aircraft left the Shadow Hills neighborhood of Sombra Terrace. But those flames roared back. That's when Matthew Mardrosian called 911.

"He was like, 'We don't know if we're going to be able to make it to you guys.' They said, 'we're spread thin so we don't know if we're going to make it. I can't make any guarantees,'" he said.

He added that it was an emotional rollercoaster thinking firefighting crews wouldn't make it in time to save their homes.

Their last line of defense was garden hoses and adrenaline.

"We're hosing. He was shoveling dirt and all I could say was the neighborhood is our heroes," Sharain Jones said.

An outbuilding in the area burned to the ground and three homes in other areas were destroyed by the fire.

Residents in the Sombra Terrace neighborhood said they learned a valuable lesson - get prepared even if you don't think you'll have to leave and then go when firefighters say so.