While the two current fires raged in the upscale celebrity neighborhoods, Christopher Côté hoped to be spared from the flames razing Los Angeles. But on Wednesday, a third fire suddenly broke out and grew large near his home in the Hollywood Hills.
Christopher Côté is a model from Quebec who has lived in Hollywood for two years. Reached by telephone on Thursday, he says he was at the forefront of this “dystopian” catastrophe.
“I listen to so many movies about natural disasters or the end of the world, and that was really what happened yesterday!”
— Christopher Côté, Quebecer who lives in Los Angeles
Evacuation worthy of a horror film
“From our window, we could see the flames and it was really scary,” describes Christopher Côté, the day after the evacuation.
With his partner, they picked up the bare minimum and left their apartment 30 minutes before the evacuation notice from the authorities on Wednesday evening. They booked the last available room in a hotel an hour’s drive away, near the ocean. “We said to ourselves: if the flames get that far, we give up,” says the Quebecer with a touch of humor.
“It was very difficult, it was starting to lose power everywhere. It was like a horror film where you have to go and be gassed because you were gassed, it wasn’t something we hadn’t planned.”
— Christopher Côté, Quebecer who lives in Los Angeles
Everyone was “in survival mode,” he reports. Monster traffic filled the roads as air tankers and helicopters continued to fly over the city. The Quebecer never thought he would see such a painting in his life.
Los Angeles transformed
Ultimately, the neighborhood that Christopher Côté lives in was spared from the flames since there is little vegetation there, unlike the affluent areas popular with celebrities. He therefore returned home on Thursday. Everyone must wear N95 masks to protect themselves from the dangers of polluted air.
The devastation caused by the Palisades Fire is seen from the air in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)
Back in his apartment, the expatriate witnesses a distressing spectacle. “The sky is really black, overcast. A lot of ashes are falling from the sky.” On the streets, he sees no one other than homeless people.
“Los Angeles is losing its feathers,” believes Christopher Côté. “I don’t think celebrities and people are going to want to rebuild their houses where it burned, because it’s very plausible that it could happen again in a year.”
Fire insurance was already expensive in California and the last few days will only cause prices to explode.
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP)
Quebec sends reinforcements
The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, announced Friday morning that Quebec would send two tanker planes as reinforcements at the request of the American authorities. The two teams from the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) will be deployed from January 15.
Two Quebec air tankers and their crews had already been in Los Angeles since August as part of an annual contract to fight fires in California. Quebec will therefore have four teams on site.
SOPFEU was in regular communication with local authorities to monitor the situation and send reinforcements when requested.
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