Sadly, many of us know first-hand just how fragile life is: how things can turn upside down from one day to the next; how we can suddenly be left to live without people we thought would always be there.
Losing a loved one isn’t something that we ever get used to, not totally. The passing of someone we hold dear so often tears open a hole in our existence, one that, try as we might, can be extremely difficult to fill.
Spare a thought, then, for Tina Compton, a woman from Hemet, California, who lost everything she held dear on one horrifically fateful day earlier this month.
According to reports, Tina had found happiness with her husband, Ian Compton, and was over the moon when he began the process of adopting her daughter, Mikayla Porter.
Mikayla had autism, but the three of them made things work – by all accounts, they were a happy, functioning family looking forward to their future together.
Sadly, Tina’s world was shattered when the lives of her daughter and her husband were cut short in the cruelest of ways.
The family, who lived the Fairview area of Hemet, California, were evacuating by car earlier this month, when they were trapped by a rampant wildfire.
Tragically, surrounded on all sides by walls of fire, Ian and Mikayla lost their lives. What’s more, Tina was forced to witness the deaths of the two most important people in her life.
Tina was also injured, suffering 30% burns to her body. Her friend, Danette Maurer, explained:
“She’s in a lot of pain and she doesn’t want to be alone with the thoughts and memories of them.”
According to Danette, Tina desperately tried to find a hose to help Ian and Mikayla. The fire claimed them all the same, along with her house, belongings and pets.
“She was screaming,” Danette said. “[She] couldn’t figure out anything else to do but pray.”
According to reports, Tina herself was saved by a firefighter neighbor who was able to pull her from the car before it was engulfed by the flames.
Her brother, Tim Chitwood, explained: “The firefighter pulled the door open, and then they yanked her out and pulled her away. The fire just got so close. It just engulfed the car.”
Tim went on to reveal that Tina doesn’t know why Ian remained in the car when it caught fire, except that maybe he stayed by Mikayla’s side.
A GoFundMe page has been started to help Tina with her recovery and rehabilitation.
All of our thoughts and prayers go out to Tina – and indeed the other victims of this terrible wildfire.
May Ian and Mikayla rest in peace. Please share this article to wish Tina well with her recovery.
