On Jan. 7th, 2025 at 10:45 a.m., I was catching up on my favorite show and making plans with friends, when a loud knock on the door startled me. I was home alone and hesitant to open the door at first, but I saw a panicked older man yelling at me that there was a fire in the neighborhood, adding that I had to evacuate immediately. At that moment, I froze in fear, not really processing what he had said. It felt like my brain switched to autopilot. 

My mom had been out, but thankfully arrived only moments later. She burst through the front door screaming for me to grab what I could and get into the car because our front yard was on fire. My mom, our dog and I got into the car and started the drive down our hill in Marquez Knolls following a long line of cars that were evacuating at the same time. What should have been a five-minute drive down to PCH turned into two terrifying hours of chaos stuck in gridlock traffic. As we slowly inched forward towards the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Palisades Drive, it felt like the fire was closing in on us. 

There was so much ash falling from the sky we had to have our windshield wipers constantly on. The air was thick with smoke, the sky had turned a mixture of fiery red and black and my throat began to go dry. Families were leaving their cars and running on foot carrying their children and belongings, elderly people were being wheeled down Sunset in wheelchairs. None of it seemed real. That night, like all of our neighbors, we were glued to the news and fire map, as we watched entire neighborhoods consumed in red and our memories being burned to ash. Suddenly, my worries about whether I could go out with my friends switched to wondering if I would have a place to live the next morning. 

By the time the fire was contained, everything I knew and loved was either destroyed or forever changed. The worst part of it all was the feeling of helplessness and knowing that there was nothing I could do about it. Over the next couple of days, my mindset started to shift into what I could be doing to help. Volunteering at clothing drives and finding ways to help support the families the most in need made me feel reconnected to the community that I was missing so much. The support has been incredible and despite this tragedy, it has been inspiring to see everyone so focused on the future and rebuilding Pacific Palisades. This horrible event has made me appreciate my community, school and friends more than ever. The saying of “never take anything for granted because it can be gone in an instant” has taken on a new meaning.

Edited by Yasmine Santini