SAUGUS — Kyle Kucharski, his wife Nicole, and their two young sons are among the thousands displaced by the wildfires raging in California.
But Kyle’s roots are local. Wayne Kucharski, Kyle’s father, grew up in West Lynn before making the move to Saugus, marrying his wife Kellee, and raising two children.
“We lived there [Saugus] almost our entire life,” Wayne Kucharski said. “The kids went to school, eventually moved on, and got married. Kyle met his wife Nicole in New York while working in the financial industry.”
Nicole had a passion for the fashion industry, and around 10 years ago the couple moved to California so she could begin her career as a wardrobe stylist, he said.
“My son was fortunate enough to work in his industry,” Wayne continued. “He sells investments to financial institutions. They had an LA office, so he had the flexibility to move out West. He had to keep his New York hours, though, so he gets up at 5 a.m. and is home around 3 p.m.”
The couple lived out there for a few years before deciding to buy a condo in Pacific Palisades.
“It was their dream home,” Wayne said. “They were expecting their first son, and they wanted to have a house, not an apartment. So, they put together everything they could and bought the condo.”
“They bought that condo four days before Thomas was born in April of 2023,” Kellee Kucharski added. “Kyle wanted her [Nicole] to come home to a house.”
She continued to say that the couple made improvements and molded it to be their dream home.
“It was a three level, and they loved their neighbors. Nicole had a great mom group of around 50 mothers and Thomas was involved in a little play group where he’d go to music and art lessons, and he had all of these little friends to play with,” Kellee said. “Everything was wonderful.”
She said that Nicole had spent 13 years building her business from the ground up and that it had been thriving.
“She built a very successful business, which she did out of her home. One of the bedrooms had been turned into her stylist studio,” Kellee said.
She emphasized that both Kyle and Nicole are extremely hard workers and that there were times where Nicole was working 60 hours a week. Kyle never stopped working but made sure to find time for his children.
“He loved the New York hours, because he could come home at 3 p.m. when Thomas got up from his nap,” Kellee said. “And then he would have fun. He’d love that he could take him for a walk and prepare dinner.”
Kyle and Nicole had just added a new addition to the family: their son Axel. The plan was for Wayne and Kellee to fly out to California Wednesday morning so Kyle and Nicole could travel to Mexico–the place they got married–for a few nights. But everything changed on Tuesday.
“They were thrilled that we were coming to stay with the kids,” Kellee said. “Tuesday, they got the order to evacuate.”
At first it was a voluntary order. But it quickly shifted to mandatory as the fire burned through more homes.
“They were high on a hill–they were at the highest point,” Kellee said. “They thought they weren’t going to be affected, and they really didn’t want to leave. But, for the kids, they said they were thinking they would be coming back in the morning.”
She said they packed outfits for each of them and basic essentials to stay in a hotel room.
“As they were going down the hill in the valley, both sides of the road were in flames and they were the only ones on the road,” Kellee said. “They couldn’t stop driving because they were basically going into flames.”
She continued to say that it was like a whole different country compared to how it looked from their house.
The next morning the couple were getting alerts from friends who didn’t evacuate, who updated them on the state of their house.
“They said that their place was still intact, and they thought they’d be okay,” Kellee said. ” At 2 p.m. they got another alert saying the fire was getting closer, but they should still be okay. That night around 10 p.m. somebody told him [Kyle] that their house might be affected.”
Wayne and Kellee canceled their trip and Kyle received a confirmation video in the morning showing the house was gone.
“Friday, they got a police escort to go see the house because it still didn’t feel real to them,” Kellee said. “There was nothing but ash. Nothing survived.”
“Think about it. You wake up and say okay I have to brush my teeth. Well, you don’t have a toothbrush, you don’t have toothpaste, you don’t have anything. They were expecting to go right back to their house the next day,” Wayne Kucharski added.
The couple had managed to grab their passports and birth certificates before leaving the house.
“They were traveling the next day, so they needed them. But that’s all they took plus some clothing. No carriages, no toys,” Kellee said.
She said one of the biggest concerns for the couple was that Thomas, who is just 19 months old, would have this memory at such a young age.
“Kyle kept saying he doesn’t want him to remember this as a child because now he has nothing,” Kellee said.
The couple managed to get in contact with an old friend of Nicole’s mom, who had a house nearby in Hermosa Beach where they stayed for a few days. Now, they’ve headed down to Florida to use Nicole’s mom’s condo while they figure out a plan.
“They’re trying to process paperwork and insurance claims,” Kellee said. “Insurance is just crazy. The sad thing is that big reservoir that was drained, that was right behind their condo. That could have saved the whole development.”
Wayne, Kellee, Kyle and Nicole have all been moved by the amount of support they’ve received during this time.
“The outpouring of support and love that they’re getting is just unfathomable,” Kellee said. “Kyle went to Boston College and he played hockey there. A teammate reached out and wanted to do a GoFundMe.”
The GoFundMe, established by Kenny Ryan, has almost reached its goal of $80,000, with many members of the community donating.
“Kyle had kept telling us that he felt like he failed,” Kellee said. “He said he should have stayed and put water on the house. I said to him, ‘Kyle, Nicole could have been raising those two boys on her own. You are not a failure; you are a hero. You got your family out and they’re safe. You can buy things down the road. Start over and work as hard as the last time. But you just can’t replace a life.'”
Kellee went on to say that all of their friends from there are in the same boat and that it’s been devastating to see.
“All of these people have lost everything they have. It’s just so raw right now for them and it’s difficult to look towards the future,” she said. “But family–the boys–are the first thing on their minds right now.”
Donations can be made on GoFundMe and will go directly towards helping the Kucharski family.
