A heartbreaking tragedy has shaken a Hollywood neighborhood after two elderly sisters died in a house fire that investigators say was deliberately set.
Maria “Chelo” Vazquez, 76, had just escaped the burning home on Vista Del Mar Avenue when she turned around and rushed back inside to save her older sister, Yolanda “Yola” Honda, 82. According to a family GoFundMe, that act of bravery cost her life. Firefighters later found Vazquez deceased in the wreckage in the early hours of February 4.
Honda, who had recently moved in to care for her sister after hip surgery, was pulled from the flames in grave condition but suffered a fatal heart attack at the hospital, relatives said.
Adding even more heartbreak, the family is still searching for Coco, Vazquez’s beloved dog and constant companion, who may have escaped during the chaos. They say finding her would feel like holding onto “a living piece of what was lost.”
Photos shared online show the once-lively home reduced to a charred shell. For the large Mexican-American family, the house was more than an address — it was a gathering place for generations, a symbol of their American dream, and the safe spot everyone returned to for holidays and milestones.
“Today, that legacy of love and sacrifice has been reduced to ashes,” the family wrote. Their fundraiser has collected more than $14,000 toward a $150,000 goal to help them rebuild.
More than 40 firefighters battled the three-a.m. inferno, with flames visible from the street as crews worked to reach the women inside. No firefighters were injured. The next day, authorities arrested a suspect linked to several trash fires set nearby that same night, though officials have not released any updates.
The family says they are devastated by the loss of both sisters, their home, and possibly their pet — a lifetime of memories gone overnight.
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