California homeowners shared their evacuation stories and video clips of the damaging flames tearing through their community. Pacific Palisades fire It has been burning since it started on Tuesday.
Zibby and Kyle Owens, who own a home in Pacific Palisades but also live in New York, spoke with Diane Macedo on ABC News Live Wednesday morning and showed Google Nest camera footage showing the devastating flames. The camera pans to their backyard, the fire engulfing the area and closing in on the pool.
“It’s the worst-case scenario that’s happening in front of our eyes right now,” Kyle Owens said. “It’s not just a place, it’s a beautiful community.”
The video was the last contact Owens received from the home shortly after the power went out.
Fires are common in California, and the Owens said they are not new to this experience. The couple recently evacuated from a New Year’s Eve bonfire that started with fireworks. However, these particularly strong gusts of wind in Santa Ana, which allowed the fire to burn five football fields per minute, had Kyle Owens worried about the future of this community.
“If we’re able to bounce back at some point, I don’t know what we’re going to come back to,” Kyle Owens said.
Kenny and Tricia Rakusin moved out of their home in Pacific Palisades.
ABC News
Kyle Owens also discussed how Pacific Palisades, one of the wealthier neighborhoods in the area, is especially difficult to evacuate because of its hillside homes and winding streets. Many friends waited more than three hours to get off the mountain, a trip that would normally take about two minutes.
Two other Pacific Palisades residents, Kenny and Tricia Rakusin, who live on the coast, said they also struggled to escape the fire zone as traffic jammed the road trying to travel up the hill to Pacific Coast Highway. Tricia Rakusin said her daughter saw many people forced to abandon their cars on Sunset Boulevard.
“This neighborhood has been around for decades, there’s never been a fire near where we live,” said Tricia Rakusin. “No one has ever figured out the possibility of this.”
Along with the stress and immediate damage from the devastating flames, Tricia Rakusin said their insurance company canceled all policies in their area four months ago.
“When we go up there, it’s going to be from a war zone,” Kenny Rakusin said. “The unknown is really challenging.”
So far, the Pacific Palisades fire, which is between two other fires in LA County, has grown to at least 11,000 acres and is zero percent contained.
In addition to the uncertainty of their home’s condition, the Owens are worried the flames could spread to Zibby’s bookstore in Santa Monica, which is also under an evacuation alert. For the Owenites and many others, these flames are wiping out businesses and homes filled with memories and connections.
“There’s so much soul in the neighborhood,” Zibby Owens said. “It is unthinkable that this place will disappear.”
