Homeowners outside of Squaw Valley returned to the area after fire forced them to evacuate

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It was a crisp cold morning with hazy skies as the "silver fire" continued to smolder. Homeowners, like Morris Thomas and his family, were allowed past the roadblocks to see the devastation.

Luckily for him, his home was still standing.

"Thank god for all the prayers from the church and the community and they sent resources for all of this here because it saved our home. Not so much fortunate for the neighbors across the street and up the hill," said Thomas.

Thomas spent hours not knowing what was going on.

"It's was hard to tell if this (his home) had gotten hit or not. There was so much smoke."

Looking around at the charred hillside there is nothing left of his neighbor's home, except for a couple cows on the property and two puppies left in a crate--alive and well.

"These little guys belong to somebody up the road. We were able to rescue them. We need to get them back home because you can see this one got scorched on the top of his head."

Thomas is just thankful his family made it out safely. This is the first time they have had to evacuate the home they have lived in since 1980.