LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Trinkets sat in burned out windows untouched, and shoes discarded beside the front door of now condemned homes were a reminder of the human toll left behind after one of the largest fires in Las Vegas city history sent hundreds running from their homes Sunday morning.
BREAKING STORY: Hundreds evacuated, 10 buildings burned in historic downtown Las Vegas fire
One neighbor lives a few homes down from the fire, and remembers waking to panic in the community.
"We woke up with people yelling to get out of our house," he said. "Came running out and saw flames all along those homes back there."
Zelda Fairfax was lucky enough to move back into her condos on Monday.
Fairfax said she grabbed her animals and evacuated, but had little fear they would be directly impacted until the winds shifted.
"It felt like it was separate and apart, and it seemed like they had it under control," she said. "We were pretty shocked and horrified when we realized, oh, it's coming back."
City workers fenced off the fire's remains following a full day of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, Clark County Fire, and ATF investigators sifting through the rubble.
LVFR Public Information Officer Tim Szymanski said their teams would literally have to get to the bottom of the mystery, removing and documenting rubble piece by piece, before a proper investigation can really begin.
"The one question everyone always wants answered is were accelerants used," he said. "We won't be able to know until we get down to the concrete because there are patterns that accelerants leave."
Until that work is done, neighbors said they will rely on each other with Fairfax urging people to donate to the American Red Cross as their workers support the displaced residents.
