Residents are starting to move back into their fire-affected communities, despite the fact that the Palisades Fire is still raging and is thought to have damaged over 5,000 buildings, devoured about 20,000 acres, and claimed at least two lives.
Watch:SkyCal provides a bird’s-eye view of fire-affected neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades
In contrast to the relaxed and wealthy community nestled within the Santa Monica Mountains with a view of the Pacific Ocean, the communities were completely altered on Thursday night, creating a spooky and post-apocalyptic atmosphere. The Palisades appeared to be a battle zone after two full days of heavy fire, with row after row of destroyed homes as the flames now begin to spread deeper into the mountains.
Thousands of individuals lost their homes in the enormous fire, including Augie Sylik. “You think of all the memories and hangouts with friends as a kid,” she said. “It’s completely heartbreaking. I’m devastated.”
His childhood house was destroyed, adding to the innumerable numbers that emergency officials have yet to make public as they attempt to assess the almost limitless extent of the damage.
“It looks like an atomic bomb went off … unrecognizable,” Sylik stated.
The streets leading out of the Palisades still have huge lines of automobiles, which were left behind by the thousands of evacuees who were stuck in traffic and waited to evacuate when the flames unexpectedly started to approach.
Related: Famous eateries, historic sites, and educational institutions along the LA County shoreline are destroyed by the Palisades Fire
In light of the tragedy, Sylik thinks it’s critical to pause and be grateful that so many people managed to leave unharmed.
“Objects are replaceable, we just gotta reflect,” he stated. “It’s crucial to pause and simply be for a moment. Simply remain motionless.
Some locals, like Dirk Michel, came home Thursday to discover it unharmed, while the others will regrettably cope with losses like Sylik.
“I literally broke down in tears and went on my knees. He remembered, “It was, it was devastating.” “And then I got around the corner and I said, ‘How is this possible?'”
Michel said it’s difficult to feel excitement when surrounded by his neighbors’ destruction, even if he was glad that his house was one of five in a row still standing.
Thanks largely to the efforts of firemen, one of those houses, owned by Tom Wait, a reporter for KCAL News, and his aunt managed to escape the raging flames that tore through the area.
Residents of Malibu, who were also compelled to evacuate from the Franklin Fire in December, began returning to their neighborhoods just north up the Pacific Coast Highway.
The fire swiftly spread north, and Alex Kole had seen footage of it blazing along his section of the roadway. However, he remained optimistic that he would be able to go back to his cherished house, which he was thrilled to discover was still intact on Thursday.
Even though there was some damage to his house, he is thankful that he has something to restore.
His words were, “I’m blessed,”