Wednesday marks one year since a wildfire ripped through the Pacific Palisades, destroying thousands of structures and killing 12 people. But for many, it still feels like yesterday.
Neal Steffin remembers his mother’s harrowing escape.
“She texted that she was stuck on Sunset,” he recalled to KNX News’ Jon Baird. “The cars weren't moving. There was smoke coming, and at that point, it got more real. My sister called her. Blessing and a curse, we all have [the[ Find My Phone [app] with the iPhone, and so I could see her not moving. Then I was seeing updates of the fire, and I was seeing it coming closer and closer towards her, and she wasn't moving. Oh my God, I never wanna have that feeling again.”
Her home was destroyed in the fires. Steffin said she has no plans to rebuild.
“Her home is gone. The Palisades, as she knew it, is no more,” he said. “People will rebuild, but it's not gonna be the same Palisades that it was, and she has been grieving that loss.”
For Anwarr, he remembers trying to help people escape.
“It was terrifying, you know?” he said. “Everybody was running around and trying to find a place to stay or get their collectives, belongings. Oh my God. It was horrible, I should say.”
He said friends who lost homes in the Palisades and Malibu.
“They don't want to go back to Palisades or Malibu,” he said. “They moved out of L.A. because of the risk. Nobody wants to build a home again.”
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Maria was working at an animal hospital a short distance away from the Palisades Fire. She said some animals were treated for smoke and other issues.
“I think the ER was definitely busy,” she said. “We've had a couple of severe cases and also coming from Pasadena over to our hospital as well.”