Family affected by Hawthorne fire helps emergency responders navigate burned brush

MERIDEN, CT (WFSB) – A family is doing everything they can to help crews fight the Hawthorne Fire.

The Carabetta family lives on over 100 acres of land in Meriden.

The fire burns parts of the family’s property. The carabettas help the emergency services put out the fire as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Joe Carabetta said, “This looks like something you would see outside of California… Fast forward two days later and it is actually on our property.”

Luckily the fire doesn’t come close to their house. However, Joe said he had walked through the land that was now being set on fire.

“It’s hard, you’ve got big rocks, you’ve got trees down, you have to maneuver over and under things, it’s not easy,” Joe added.

Joe, his brother and his colleagues at J & J Brothers Tree and Construction help crews deal with the burned brush and challenging terrain.

“We have our own UTVs and we just show directions and routes up here and the best way to get there. “You’re not on a normal road, you’re on a mountain,” Joe said.

His team said crews continued to work around the clock after firefighter Robert Sharkevich died trying to put out the fire on Tuesday.

Austen Glass, from J&J Brothers Tree and Construction, said: “You work hard and trudge up and down this mountain, it’s not easy, especially after what happened yesterday. I’m also sorry they lost. We encourage them to work through the night and do everything they can to prevent that.”

Joe Carabetta said that while the fire damaged some of their property, it was too early to tell what damage it caused.

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