LA wildfires; apartment of Mequon man's brother burned to the ground

MEQUON, Wis. - As the wildfires expand in Los Angeles, we are hearing more stories from survivors of the disaster. That includes the brother of a Mequon man whose apartment building burned down in the Pacific Palisades fire. 

Wisconsin connection to wildfires

Kevin Kitsis painted a picture of the panic from last Tuesday, Jan. 7 – when fire closed in on his apartment building and he had just minutes to get out. 

What they're saying:

"I could see that it was getting closer, the smoke was getting thicker. There was an orange eeriness to the sky," Kitsis said. "Grabbed my passport, my computer, my girlfriend’s passport and computer."

The fire burned his building down. Only rubble and memories remain. 

"The fire is still burning. It still spreading right now," Kitsis said. 

Local perspective:

Kitsis' brother, Robert, lives in Mequon. He watched the disaster play out from thousands of miles away.

"Someone texted me saying ‘Hey is your brother OK?’ I didn’t actually know what was going on," Robert told FOX6 News. "Here in Wisconsin, we can’t really do much to help, but at least we can help try to get people back on their feet."

What you can do:

Robert Kitsis setup a GoFundMe account to help Kevin and his girlfriend, who did have renters insurance.

What's next:

Meanwhile, the challenges are far from over for Kevin Kitsis. Nearby apartment complexes are packed with new renters in similar situations.

"The housing market is filling up with everyone who is displaced, the furniture stores are selling  out and have no inventory," Kevin Kitsis said. "Everything is out of stock right now. We are faced with another challenge of rebuilding."

Kitsis' days have been spent applying for federal relief and cancelling membership near his home, that he hasn’t seen in person yet. For now, Kitsis is staying with family.