Gary Hall Jr. thought nothing of the small, off-colored cloud he saw from inside his Pacific Palisades kitchen Tuesday morning.
Then he noticed a thin plume of smoke rising into the sky, doubling in size within a minute.
Then he smelled smoke.
When the former U.S. Olympic swimmer saw flames coming from houses on a hill in the distance, he left the rented house on Luckman Lane where he lived with his dog Puddles and ran his Sea Monkeys Swimming business. I realized I had to let it go. , from 2020.
“I think part of what made me so good as an elite-level competitor in the sport was my ability to stay really, really calm in intense, high-pressure situations,” Hall said Thursday from Encinitas, where he is staying. He told the Times in a phone interview. sister Maria Diego;
“And I was that [on Tuesday] — You know, being realistic, making decisions, assessing situations. This was a disaster, and I could see the house burning. ”
Hall said the house is no longer there. The Palisades Fire destroyed more than 5,000 buildings and burned 20,000 acres. The Palisades Fire is one of several large wildfires to hit Los Angeles County this week. As of Friday morning, the Palisades Fire was 8% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Hall brought only the insulin she needs to treat her type 1 diabetes, her grandfather’s paintings, and religious artifacts. He planned to run back indoors to retrieve 10 more valuable possessions: 5 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals from three Olympic Games (1996, 2000, 2004). , I realized that I didn’t have time.
“On my first run, I got hit by an ember,” Hall said. “So I brought the dog and dog food and that was it.”
He had arranged to meet his girlfriend, Lara Pezza, in Palisades Village. But the “panic” and “mayhem” that Hall saw as soon as he got there made him realize it wasn’t a good idea.
“People were running in all directions, traffic was so congested, there was nowhere to go,” Hall said. “Parents were trying so hard to get their kids out of school that they would drive their cars onto the sidewalk and into other cars. It was dangerous – forget about the fires, people would die in the stampede. .”
Palisades Village buildings were destroyed by the Palisades Fire.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
Hall and Pezza used their knowledge of the area’s streets to avoid major traffic jams and met on Santa Monica’s Montana Avenue. They then drove to his sister’s house, where Hall said he was “taking stock of everything that just happened.”
“I think adrenaline is a fight-or-flight response, so we keep our eyes wide open 24 hours a day,” said Hall, who blogged for the Times during the 2008 and 2010 Olympics. “He was full of energy,” he said. “And I think the fatigue from that is setting in. Today, I’ve had so many people reaching out and reaching out to me to make sure I’m okay after hearing this news.” I am completely overwhelmed by the number of people who do.”
Furthermore, he added: So sit down and have a moment of silence. I’m not quite there yet. But the devastation is sure to sink in. ”
Another sister, Amy Botha, has started an online fundraiser to help Hall get back on his feet. As of Friday afternoon, it had raised about $59,000.
“I’m too proud to ask for help, but the only things I have in this world right now are the clothes I was wearing and the toothbrush I bought yesterday,” Hall said. “I lost my 10 Olympic medals, everything else I owned, my house and my job. So she set up a GoFundMe and through that many people have reached out. I did.”
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, American swimmer Gary Hall starts the semi-finals of the 50 meter freestyle.
(Thomas Kienzl/Associated Press)
At 50, Hall said she is preparing for a “complete rebuild” of her life.
“There’s nothing to go back there,” he said of Pacific Palisades. “So I have to find a home. It’s nice to be with my sister, but ultimately I need to find my own place. And buy essentials like underwear. And another Get back to business at your location.”
As for where he would go to start over, Hall said he “didn’t have time to think about it.”
Hall knows many other people in similar situations, especially families with children who have been taught to swim in backyard pools. He said that’s the “most heartbreaking thing” about the situation.
“Since 2020, I have connected and worked with so many families in this region, young children aged 2 to 6 years old, and they have all been forced to evacuate. That is the hardest thing for me. That’s true,” Hall said. “I’m talking about hundreds of families that I’ve gotten to know very closely and whose children have become friends.
“It hit me more emotionally because I was sending a message to the people who lost their homes and to the 4-year-old who is trying to understand what happened here: ‘Stay safe.’ The world they knew was destroyed.”
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