Liz Baker
Appearances
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Good morning, Steve. What have you been seeing? Because these winds are so strong and blowing straight out to the ocean, you can actually see the fire pretty well if you're looking at it from L.A. And what you could see was just this orange zigzag running straight up the mountain like a lightning bolt. And every time the wind had a big gust, which was like all the time.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
You could see the fire flare super high into the sky. And, you know, airplanes were dumping fire retardant to try and stop it. But that fire ended up moving a little bit further south towards the populated city of Santa Monica. Parts of Santa Monica are now under evacuation orders. Also, Malibu is under evacuation.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Steve, you might remember that city just burned in a different fire almost exactly one month ago. Well, now they're getting it again.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Yeah, I mean, that's what it feels like on the ground, too. We went into the evening last night with only one major fire, the Palisades Fire I mentioned, started Tuesday morning in the mountains and very quickly made a run all the way to the ocean. You know, unfortunately, the community of Pacific Palisades with over 10,000 households was in the way.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
And then just all day yesterday, there were these little fires popping up and getting put down by firefighters. But then into the evening, the winds really picked up and a fire in Eaton Canyon flared and That very, very quickly became a problem for the communities of Altadena and Pasadena just below it.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
And I've heard from colleagues in their area who say that situation went from absolutely nothing to apocalyptic in under an hour. So that's all the time it took for that fire to double in size. And then another fire took off further to the northwest. That one jumped the freeway within minutes, you know.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
It's a lot, and it just seems like every hour or so a new fire is popping up. You know, there was even one across the street from the NPR Bureau here just for a little while. It's just this constant game of whack-a-mole for firefighters.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
Well, it's really hard to tell. These fires are still raging. Certainly structures have burned. That includes even some beach lifeguard stations. Just to give you an idea of how forcefully these winds are sweeping towards the ocean, they're even hitting the beach.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
There have been reports of people getting so gridlocked trying to evacuate that they abandoned their cars, and we've seen footage of cars just being bulldozed off the street to make room for emergency vehicles. I spoke with one person, Dave Dawson, earlier today who hiked out of an evacuation zone from Palisades Village with his dog.
Up First from NPR
Facebook And MAGA, Winter Virus Season, LA Palisades Fire
So this is really a worst-case scenario, Steve, and one that is just going to keep going at least through today.
Up First from NPR
Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
You're welcome, Scott.
Up First from NPR
Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
Well, we're still in heightened fire weather again today, according to the National Weather Service. They're warning that the risk is a little south of L.A., especially today. Parts of Orange and Riverside counties, they're under red flag warnings.
Up First from NPR
Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
For a while here, yesterday and Thursday, the winds calmed down a little bit, where the worst fires have been raging here in L.A., especially at lower elevations. That windbreak has been welcome news. Some evacuation zones were able to be lifted or downgraded.
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Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
Some people were able to return to their homes and firefighters did start to make some slight progress for the first time towards containment on the big fires and even more progress on some of the smaller ones. But Scott, still over 150,000 people are under evacuation orders.
Up First from NPR
Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
And overnight there was a flare up of the Palisades fire that led to even more evacuations, this time in the Brentwood area. That fire over there, that's already the worst in Los Angeles history. Overall, these past few days have just been astonishing. Astonishingly destructive. Officials estimate over 10,000 structures destroyed. Here's a clip from Rich Snyder.
Up First from NPR
Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
He's a retired fire marshal who now works for a company that hardens homes. That means he prepares them to survive wildfires. But he told me the fires this week are the worst he's ever seen.
Up First from NPR
Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
Well, to answer that question, I'd actually like to stay with Rich Snyder for a minute because I met up with him last night in Pasadena. He was sitting outside his damaged home, which he personally saved from the Eaton fire using garden hoses and help from his nephews. And he showed me videos on his phone of what it was like inside.
Up First from NPR
Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
so scary, just embers just pouring down like glowing rain, flames everywhere. And he says that happened so fast in just 20 minutes. The fire was on top of his house and he had to run out and start fighting it in his baseball cap and sweats. Scott, there's no doubt that those efforts saved not only his house, but at least eight others on the block.
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Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
Although he still says there was nothing he could do for 15 other homes. And he did actually rescue one of his neighbors across the street. That man is neurodivergent. He couldn't understand what was going on and kept trying to get into his car to leave. But the car was already on fire with 15-foot flames shooting out of it. So a very, very, very dramatic evening for Snyder.
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Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
And he has 30 years of experience as a firefighter. He said, though, fighting this one at home was a whole different ballgame and one he never could have fully prepared for.
Up First from NPR
Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
Scott, you can hear in his voice, Snyder is really just starting to process what he went through this week. So are his wife, his nephews, his neighbors, a lot of people in L.A. And they haven't been able to take a break. The Snyders, they stood up all night and all day in front of their yard, ready to douse any flare-ups and deter looters. And that's, you know, on top of everything else.
Up First from NPR
Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
It's just a lot to deal with. Angelenos are used to some level of disruption for wildfires, but there's never been anything like this before.
Up First from NPR
Palisades Fire Expands, 2024 Hottest On Record, TikTok Arguments Pro And Con
You're welcome.