The Wong couple’s California wildfires misery has doubled – first their home in Santa Rosa burned when flames swept through Sonoma County two months ago and they just lost their second house to a wind-whipped fire in Ventura.
Antonio Wong and his wife Pratima Wong had been renting out a house they owned in Ventura when their family home was destroyed in Santa Rosa, CNN reported.
The couple had moved to Santa Rosa with their 19-year-old son just six months ago, ABC News reported, then within months were forced to evacuate along with thousands of others when the wildfires ravaged Sonoma County.
Their Santa Rosa home was burnt to the ground.
"I looked across the street and there was like a 20-foot tall tree that was lit up like a torch. So then I realized, ‘oh, this is really bad,’" said Antonio Wong, per KGO-TV.
On Tuesday their Ventura home was destroyed in the massive Thomas Fire.
"You have your first love, your first home, your first car," said Antonio Wong, per CNN. "It was pretty devastating. It didn't seem like I could lose two houses in two separate fires only two months apart.”
Now the family’s future is uncertain, with the Wongs facing the possibility that they may not able to rebuild either one of their houses due to being under-insured.
Antonion Wong told CNN that after the first fire he took some comfort in knowing he had their Ventura residence as a safety blanket.
The family had moved into a Santa Rosa rental unit last month and were just starting to pick up the pieces when the second fire ravaged their Ventura home.
"It was surreal, more like numb you know. Did this really happen to us?" said Pratima Wong, per KGO-TV. "For the second time, it's a lot harder."
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.