Palisades Residents Describe Escaping Los Angeles Wildfire Inferno

As California firefighters battle three separate fires in and around Los Angeles, residents of the affluent suburb of Palisades have told the BBC how they fled the approaching flames.

Pacific Palisades resident David Latt said he and his wife had just 10 minutes to take important documents and family photos before they were stuck in a traffic jam for two hours while trying to escape.

Speaking to the Radio 4 Today programme, Latt said he had not noticed the fires until a neighbor warned him.

“I didn’t even know what he was talking about until I went outside and saw, about four blocks away, up the hill, a very large column of black smoke. And then I realized, ‘oh, we have to get out of here.’ !'”

Latt said most people are aware of the need to carry a “go bag” containing important documents such as passports and other essential items. He wanted to make sure we had “all the receipts we needed to file our taxes…and we gathered more family photos, albums and artwork that we could fit in our two cars.”

After gathering his most important belongings, he took a moment to film the wildfires from his roof and check the wind direction. When he realized it was blowing in his direction, he knew it was time to move, just minutes after receiving the warning.

With access to and from their area limited to a single road, Latt said they were stuck in a traffic jam for two hours as they tried to flee.

Pacific Palisades, which borders Malibu, is a paradise of hillside streets and winding roads set against the Santa Monica Mountains and stretching to beaches along the Pacific Ocean.

Mr. Latt is not sure what has happened at his house and does not think they will know much more for at least a day; Extremely high winds are forecast later Wednesday night and into Thursday, which could fan the flames and spark more fires in Los Angeles.

“What we know from experience is that, although firefighters are doing a remarkable job putting out areas of fire, there are still some sparks left… the wind picks them up, carries the embers that can cross the street or a mile away… “That’s the concern in Los Angeles tonight,” Mr. Latt said.

The speed with which he saw the firefighting planes in the sky gave him some confidence in a “scary situation,” he added.

In Palisades, firefighters told people to get out of their cars as the fire approached, fanned by wind gusts that sometimes topped 100 mph (160 km/h).

“The fire was right against the cars,” resident Marsha Horowitz told the BBC.

Celebrities were also among those who fled.

Schitt’s Creek actor Eugene Levy lives in the area and told local media he was forced to evacuate his home. “The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon. I couldn’t see any flames, but the smoke was very dark.” told the Los Angeles Times.

Latt and his wife made it to safety, but unrest has gripped city residents as three wildfires rage across the northern and western outskirts.

Fanned by strong winds, the fires destroyed homes, blocked roads and forced more than 30,000 people to flee.

With at least 50,000 homes without power, other people in affected neighborhoods have been driving to get a signal to try to make calls or connect to the Internet, not knowing what to do.

If they go to sleep, they worry about not knowing when to evacuate. Many can see the flames from their homes, but are not sure if they are close enough to go out.

Many people have children and pets and are not sure where to go.

Journalist Amrita Khalid lives in the coastal city of Santa Monica, which is also being evacuated.

She told BBC World Service radio program Newsday that the day started like any other.

“I can’t stress how normal this morning was in Santa Monica. It seemed like another nice winter morning. But then, I was walking home from the gym and noticed big black clouds of smoke.”

She then decided to leave her home in search of a safer place and says a photo of her neighborhood that she shared with her confirmed her decision to leave.

“It looks like Mars, it looks bright red,” he said. “So I’m kind of glad I left. I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.”