David Esquivel saw the massive raging flames of the historic Eaton Fire approaching at the end of his street and knew the time had come to flee his comfortable home in Altadena. 

At least 17 people were killed and thousands of homes and businesses were burned to the ground in the blaze that has turned the lives of countless families upside down. 

As the ravaged California community 14 miles north of downtown Los Angeles was being destroyed all around him amid end-of-world scenes, Esquivel jumped on his skateboard desperately looking for safety.

‘I fled on my skateboard with all my luggage,’ Esquivel, 36, told DailyMail.com. ‘I was going downhill when I hit a crack and – boom – I wiped out at 20 miles an hour.’

Despite painful injuries, the caterer and musician found himself among the diaspora of shocked fire survivors who had made their way to the Red Cross emergency shelter in nearby Pasadena.

The divorced father-of-one thought his situation couldn’t have been any worse. He was, sadly, mistaken. 

While waiting for a bus just a stone’s throw from the shelter, he was mugged by two men who viciously attacked him and stole his backpack containing his birth certificate, social security card and cell phone.

Esquivel was in a wheelchair and knee brace – after being treated for his skateboard injuries – when the thugs approached and savagely beat him. 

‘I got mugged at the bus stop,’ he added. So I’m s*** out of luck.’  

David Esquivel was forced to flee his home as the raging wildfires approached his home in Altadena. The father-of-four thought his situation couldn’t get worse, but he was mistaken

‘One of them said, “Hey, give me your backpack.” I said no, this is my backpack,’ recalled Esquivel.

‘Then he kicked me in the head. I fell and he took the backpack. I got back up, I tried to get it back and he kicked me in the head again and I fell again.’

The attack occurred at the corner of Los Robles Avenue and Walnut Street in Pasadena, a stone’s throw from the rescue shelter.

‘He was a young kid, about 23,’ added Esquivel. ‘Tall, like about six feet – 185 pounds, long legs. He knew how to kick. I could tell he was a fighter because he aimed right for my head.’

Esquivel reported the brutal incident to police. ‘I doubt they’ll be able to catch them,’ he said. 

He has been sleeping on a cot along with the other devastated victims who had seen their homes razed. 

‘I’m living in a shelter with 400 people and it’s crazy,’ he said.

‘It’s hectic. There’s women, children, dogs and cats. I’m just trying to survive.’

He said he caught Norovirus after moving into the shelter. ‘I was s***ting my pants for three days and throwing up.’

There was further misery for Esquivel who added, ‘When I evacuated the looters invaded the home and stole everything, including my guitar.’

Now the shelter is about to close to make way for the 56th NAACP Image Awards being broadcast live from Civic Auditorium at the Pasadena Convention Center on  February 22.

The site is also being prepared for America’s Got Talent auditions, originally scheduled for Jan. 12, but now starting on March 10.

Authorities said 17 people are known to have perished in last month’s Eaton Fire.

Esquivel recalled racing to escape the deadly flames as they surged up the block next to where he was renting a room in a house then tumbling from his skateboard. 

‘I hurt my right knee, right shoulder and my left hand,’ he told DailyMail.com.

Esquivel was mugged at a bus stop close to the shelter for wildfire victims in Pasadena. They stole his birth certificate, social security card and phone

Esquivel was mugged at a bus stop close to the shelter for wildfire victims in Pasadena. They stole his birth certificate, social security card and phone 

Esquivel reported the brutal incident to police. 'I doubt they'll be able to catch them,' he told DailyMail.com. He has been staying at the shelter for the last month

Esquivel reported the brutal incident to police. ‘I doubt they’ll be able to catch them,’ he told DailyMail.com. He has been staying at the shelter for the last month 

Esquivel added that looters targeted his home, and stole his $3,000 portable grill

Esquivel added that looters targeted his home, and stole his $3,000 portable grill 

At least 17 people were killed and thousands of homes and businesses were burned to ground in the blaze that has turned the lives of countless families upside down

At least 17 people were killed and thousands of homes and businesses were burned to ground in the blaze that has turned the lives of countless families upside down

‘I was evacuating. I didn’t know where to go. They just told us we had to leave. I lost my skateboard and my guitar.’ 

He said looters stole his $3,000 portable grill from his home. ‘They took all my equipment,’ he added. ‘They must have had a cart and loaded it into a truck.’

The Red Cross, which was running the shelter at the Pasadena Convention Center, gave him a new cell phone. 

The organization told him the shelter will soon be relocating to an alternative location in Altadena but that it has found him an apartment in Rancho Cucamonga, 35 miles west of Pasadena. 

‘They said we’ll be moving in one week but they keep telling us different things so I don’t know what to believe,’ said Esquivel.

His son, Rio, 10, is currently staying in Pasadena with his ex-wife. The youngster’s school in Altadena – Odyssey Charter School – was destroyed by the Eaton Fire and so he now attends lessons in nearby La Cañada.

Staff with GoFundMe helped him set up an appeal website, ‘but I have no donations yet,’ he told DailyMail.com.

Despite the strain of the harsh challenges in recent weeks, he was still able express hope for the future and said, ‘I’m doing better.’

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk