The sun shone red as it sank into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, casting an orange hue over the carnage smoldering off California’s southern coast. It will be a day not soon forgotten in Los Angeles, which by evening was flanked by catastrophic wildfires in almost every direction.
It is still too early to determine the full extent of the destruction caused by the fires, but in the neighborhoods adjacent to the Palisades fire it was clear that the impact was enormous.
Throughout the day, residents’ cellphones in nearby communities blared warnings as mandatory evacuation lines were extended as wind-fanned fires continued to spread. Exhausted residents, including some who had already experienced a panicked escape, rushed to escape danger again.
One man, taking refuge in an upscale Brentwood eatery, called the signal “the soundtrack of the week.” He had just learned that his home was among those lost in the Palisades fire, which was still raging in the canyons above Santa Monica and Malibu.
Many others will receive the same news in the coming days.
Firefighters who refueled their trucks and stocked up on snacks Wednesday afternoon — a brief respite from their 24-hour battles in the dangerous conditions — said the devastation was unlike anything they had seen in their decades-long careers.
Unauthorized to speak on the record, they shared anecdotal information from the fiery front lines: According to one firefighter’s estimate, only about one in five homes had been spared in the charred ravines left by the spreading fire.
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The world-famous section of the Pacific Coast Highway, a picturesque beach road between Santa Monica and Malibu, has been left in ruins. Still smoldering structures along the highway in the slopes above and against the sea spewed flames and smoke into the evening sky on Wednesday as blackened palm trees swayed in the unyielding wind.
The region has been ravaged by catastrophic fires before – and not so long ago.
Hundreds of homes were lost in the Mountain Fire that burned in the North in November, followed by dozens more in the Franklin Fire that scorched Malibu last month. In the weeks that followed, the hoped-for rain failed to materialize and the thirsty landscapes continued to dry up. Strong wind events typical of this time of year only served to create chaos in the fire-induced conditions, causing the fires to spread quickly.
The Palisades fire penetrated deeper into the dense, dry hills, engulfing communities and homes scattered across the picturesque area overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
As black smoke billowed over the mountains and flames flickered on the ridge Wednesday morning, many residents of Topanga Canyon, an artistic and rural enclave familiar with navigating chaotic fires, had already been evacuated. The roads winding through the gorge were empty, save for the remaining few who chose to stay and those who were on their way out. Small groups stood at the overlooks to watch as the fire swept through the area from which they had just fled.
They included Matt and Joseph Brown, father and son, who had lived in the area together for decades. Over the past 24 hours, Joseph had been part of a hectic and chaotic evacuation from the Palisades when the fire first broke out. He then helped Matt and his family as they rushed to gather animals – horses, dogs and miniature donkeys – before the flames reached them. Chickens and bunnies in a coop, Matt said, had to be left behind.
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Neighbors who remained, protected by privately hired firefighters, soon after told him the news that the chicken coop and its occupants, along with their guest house, had been consumed by the fire.
Further along, Jane Connelly was still trying to save her horse Louie, who had become so frightened in the chaos that he refused to get into a trailer. She decided to walk him outside on a leash instead. “I had to get the dogs, cats, and child out first,” she said, breathing heavily as she walked quickly along the side of the sloping road. After 15 years in this area this was a sad first.