Woman narrowly escapes house fire

A woman survives a terrifying ordeal over the weekend after her home in Palm Desert catches fire, destroying everything inside, and killing her pets.

June Johnson lived in the same condo in Palm Desert for the last 11 years. Saturday night, she says she almost died in her home after it caught fire.

“I heard an explosion which had to be my patio door blowing out and 4 feet from my bed there was nothing but thick black smoke,” said Johnson.

“I went to the front door and it wouldn’t open, the firemen told me it was probably the pressure in the house that wouldn’t let me open it, and then it all filled with black smoke and found my way to the window and kicked it out,” said Johnson.

She escaped through a window that only opened up about 8 inches. Johnson had two Siamese cats name Missy and May. They died in the fire.

“I tried everything to get them out, and I walked around and I was throwing rocks at the windows to try to get them out, and I couldn’t get the windows to break,” said Johnson.

June’s family just happened to be visiting the Coachella Valley this week and they’ll help take care of her.

“I was in shock, and when you hear something that devastating it’s hard to have it compute, and we are just so lucky that she is alive and didn’t get hurt,” said Angie Block, Johnson’s daughter.

Johnson believes fireworks, from a show down the street, set one of her palm tress on fire. KESQ’s investigation shows the fireworks was scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. and the fire that destroyed Johnson’s home started at 9:00 p.m.

The Riverside County Fire Department will determine the exact cause. It is still under investigation.

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