A fire spreads through the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Southern California, an area known for its high-end boutiques and celebrities, such as Reese Witherspoon and Ben Affleck.
LesNews collected the testimony of a resident of this disaster area who lives not far from the central shopping district.
Mina and her daughter were lucky to escape with only the clothes they were wearing and their two small dogs.
The mother described the scene as “chaotic” and “terrifying”, with people running in all directions, sirens blaring and planes loaded with seawater flying overhead.
“People park their cars on the side of the road, get out and run for their lives! » said Mina. “Some flee, dragging their children by the hand while carrying Louis Vuitton luggage.
“A man was running with two Gucci suitcases and a houseplant. It’s worthy of a disaster movie. »
A BMW and a Tesla sit in heavy traffic as the fire rages in the background
Porsche drives away from burning scene in Los Angeles
There is no quick way to escape danger.
“It takes three hours to leave the Palisades right now. It’s a traffic of Porsches and BMWs, people are running to escape danger! »
As for her safety, she says she is safe.
“I’m not afraid because I’m out. But I am very worried. I don’t know if I will be able to come home. My house could be burned to the ground. I risk losing my home that I love,” she adds.
However, some of his neighbors want to stay and are watering the roofs of their houses “in the hope of saving them”.
“I’m amazed that some people want to stay, they could die! It’s crazy. I don’t think people realize how serious the situation is,” says Mina.
Police rush to the area to help people evacuate. “Everywhere you look, sirens are screaming!” »
Escape options are limited. It is difficult to even reach the Pacific Ocean.
All hotels in the region are already “full”.
Regarding cars, people ask to leave their keys outside.
“Everyone asks people to leave the key in their car so that the emergency services can move it if the fire gets closer, because a car with a full tank could explode,” she explains.
Firefighters run as brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades
Firefighter protects structure from advancing flames in California
Fire rages in Pacific Palisades neighborhood known for its high-end boutiques and celebrities
The scene is described as chaotic and distressing
All businesses and educational establishments are also closed.
The fire started shortly before 11 a.m.
“I had to leave my house at 11 a.m. and when I came out the air smelled of smoke, but it wasn’t too intense yet,” she said.
“It started in the Palisades Highlands, north of where I live.
“I could see the flames and smoke on the fire ring, I had never seen a fire this close to me before.
“It was spreading at breakneck speed, and the flames reached almost 12 meters. I saw the flames rise, fly into the air and fall back onto the brush. I left shortly after seeing the fire coming down the hill toward my house. I did not wait for the evacuation which was announced at 1:30 p.m. »
Evacuation alerts were posted on the Citizen app and LAFD.org. “I was looking at my phone,” Mina says, “but I was already gone before they ordered people to leave. »
She took all her documents, her purse, her dogs, dog food and a bottle of water.
“My daughter wanted to take more things but I told her no, we could always buy more things, we had to preserve our lives first,” she says.
Wildfire breaks out near Pacific Palisades during Southern California windstorm
Los Angeles County firefighter battles Palisades fire while car burns
She then got into her SUV and headed down Sunset Boulevard toward PCH.
“Traffic was heavy and firefighting planes were flying low overhead. It was noisy and windy. They took water from the ocean and poured it onto the ring of fire. »
She noted there were between two and four planes flying back and forth.
“I’m so happy to be gone quickly and I’m praying that the others get through this. It’s terrifying,” concludes Mina.
At least 510 hectares of the Pacific Palisades area between Santa Monica and Malibu had been consumed by flames, authorities said Tuesday afternoon, after they had already warned of extreme fire danger from dry and powerful winds. The size of the fire increased six times in a few hours.
Witnesses reported several homes on fire, with flames threatening to burn cars as people fled the hills of Topanga Canyon, with the fire then spreading toward the Pacific Ocean.
Flames engulfed homes and bulldozers cleared abandoned vehicles from roads to allow emergency vehicles to pass, television images showed.
Before the fire started, the National Weather Service had issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions across much of Los Angeles County Tuesday through Thursday, forecasting wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph , with isolated winds reaching 130 to 160 km/h in the mountains and foothills.
This situation was aggravated by low humidity and dry vegetation due to the lack of rain.
