The Red-Roofed House That Survived The Wildfires Is Not From California.

The Los Angeles, California wildfires have killed at least 25 people, forced over 200000 to evacuate, and destroyed or damaged more than 12,401 structures as of January 15, 2025. Against this backdrop, an image of a red-roofed house surrounded by ashes of the neighbourhood buildings went viral on social media. Sharing the image, users are claiming that the house survived the California wildfires while everything burnt into ashes. Sharing the image on X, a user wrote, “Gods miracles are real…. after everything was burned at California….this house remained. Not even a crack.”

X Link | Archived Link.

However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was false. The image is unrelated to the wildfires in California. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by conducting a reverse image search. This led us to a report published on 22 August 2023 in the Turkish language. The report contained the viral image from a slightly different angle and a video of an aerial view of the red-roofed house. According to the report, the visual was from the Lahaina area in Hawaii’s Maui. The report read, “Hawaii, one of the world’s favourite vacation spots, was hit by a devastating fire.

While some towns and resort areas were completely burned to ashes, the Lahaina area in Hawaii’s Maui, was also among the areas burned to ashes.

While all the houses were burning, there was one house that stood out in this area. While many areas around the house with the red roof were burning, nothing happened to it.

The house was renovated before the fire

The Millikin family, who own the house on Front Street, spoke about the house that is the subject of curiosity. “We lost our neighbours in this incident; they lost everything,” said homeowner Dora Atwater Millikin.

The Millikin family recently completed a series of renovations to their historic Hawaiian home. “We love old buildings,” said Dora Atwater Millikin, who noted that the goal was not to prevent fires. “We wanted to preserve the historic fabric.” 

The roof of the house was cleared of wooden parts

Considered a great precaution against fire, the roof of the house was stripped of the wooden parts found in classic Hawaiian houses and replaced with a metal sheet. The leaves of the trees that were too close to the house were pruned.

The couple said they were more worried about termites than fire. The walls of the house were also renewed with concrete.”

Please read here. 

Taking this clue, using relevant keywords we found another news report published on 24 August 2023. The report contained the viral image. According to the report, “The fire that devastated historic Lahaina in western Maui left a red-roofed house relatively unscathed. Its owner says he wants to open the house to the neighborhood to help the rebuilding process.”

Please read here. Archived Link.

A BBC report published on 22 August 2023 read, “Pictures have gone viral of a single red-roofed home that appears virtually unscathed as the neighbourhood around it has been reduced to piles of ash and rubble from the Maui fires.

The 100-year-old wood house on Front Street is still standing as most of the town of Lahaina has been destroyed.

Its owners have been left wondering what spared it…”

Please read here. Archived Link

Another video report can be seen here.

It is worth mentioning that in early August 2023, a series of wildfires broke out in the U.S. state of Hawaii, predominantly on the island of Maui. The wind-driven fires prompted evacuations and caused widespread damage, killing at least 102 people and leaving two people missing in the town of Lahaina on Maui’s northwest coast.

This makes it clear that the viral image is old and from the Hawaii wildfires in 2023.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim is false. The viral image showing a red-roofed house that survived a wildfire is not from the recent wildfires in California. The image shows the house that survived the Lahaina Hawaii wildfires in 2023.