Is my house still there? It’s a question weighing heavily on the minds of homeowners in Los Angeles County’s wildfire evacuation zones, accompanied by overwhelming uncertainty.
On the second day of the Palisades Fire, which started a week ago, a lifelong Pacific Palisades resident cycled 20 miles, most of it uphill, to get answers.
Will Adams, who has lived on the upper Los Angeles County coast for 56 years, started pedaling his electric bike at the foot of Palisades Drive. The gentle slopes lead to a community of approximately 23,000 people where a family of four rents a townhouse.
In an eerie scene on Sunset Boulevard, Adams was seen on Jan. 7 at a burnt-out area where evacuees were forced to abandon, stuck in traffic, as flames fanned by powerful wind gusts destroyed neighborhoods. I rode my bicycle past a line of cars. His wife had to leave the family’s car during the initial chaos of the fire, California’s third deadliest on record. Ms. Adams rushed to St. Matthew’s Parish School to pick up her children.
“This is Armageddon,” Adams said as he witnessed the destruction.
When he arrived in his neighborhood at the top of Palisades Highlands, Adams pumped his fist as he coasted on his bike. The townhomes were still standing.
“It’s still standing,” Adams said. “The entire complex up to Casa Nostra is fine.”
Adams, whose electric bike’s battery died, walked to check on her parents’ home, where her mother had recently moved after her father’s death. In a heartbreaking sight common in the Palisades and Eaton fire zones, only the chimney remained among the rubble.
he called his mother.
“It’s all on fire, Mom,” he said. “So the whole block is gone. You can see all the way to the point.”
The lemon tree, blackened by the flames – still bearing a few lemons, its bright yellow faded by a layer of ash – is one of the many memories of the place where he grew up. It reminded me.
“You can see it’s very well done,” Adams said. “It was always full of lemons and all the neighbors were coming over to borrow lemons, and we told everyone to come… just walk up the driveway and grab a lemon. ”
On his way down the hill, Adams passed landmarks in the fire-ravaged area, including Gerson’s grocery store, the remains of the Corpus Christi church, and his 90-year-old mother’s destroyed apartment.
But the spire of the elementary school that Adams attended still stood above the destruction.
“That’s the iconic Palisades right there,” Adams said.
The Palisades Fire reached 23,713 acres on Tuesday and was 14 percent contained. The first Los Angeles County map documenting building destruction and damage was released Monday.
As of Tuesday, 88,000 people were under evacuation orders in Los Angeles County.
Adams said she is committed to staying in the community. For now, he said, his mother has moved to Santa Barbara with another son.
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