12 Survivors Share Harrowing Stories from Inside L.A.'s Historic Inferno: 'This Was Like Armageddon' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Rodney Nickerson checked in with his son Eric almost every day, trading easy banter about the latest football game, his blood pressure and the sunny Southern California weather. But the 82-year-old retired project engineer ended their last call, early on Jan. 7, with a note of alarm. “He said, ‘Son, the wind is getting really bad out here,’ ” Eric recalls. “I told him, ‘Dad, be careful, be safe.’ ”

The next day Rodney, a widower and grandfather, was found dead in bed at his home in Altadena, Calif., making him one of the first victims in what isnow the worst series of wildfires in Los Angeles’ history. Vicious drafts of desert-hot Santa Ana winds fedthe fast-moving firestorm, which in mere hours roared over mountaintops, through canyons and into city neighborhoods.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Rodney’s son says. “It’s bad. It’s bad.”

The blazes that began the morning of Jan. 7 have largely been concentrated in the Pacific Palisades and Pasadena areas. As of press time, they have devoured more than 40,000 acres (approximately three times the size of Manhattan) across the country’s second-largest city.

More than 150,000 people were forced to evacuate, and there have beenat least 24 deathsand 23 people reported missing, though those numbers are expected to grow. In the show-business capital of the world, celebrities, too, have been affected andhave pledged to lead charity efforts.

“It’s mind-boggling,” says Dr.Sara Trepanier, an ER physician who, until the fires started, lived in the Palisades. “The churches are gone. All our restaurants, all of the grocery stores. It’s all ashes.”

Here, some of those who survived — and loved ones of those who didn’t — share their stories.

• For more on the historic disaster in L.A., including details on how the blazes got so bad and more voices from those on the ground, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday,or subscribe.

‘The Entire Mountain Was on Fire’

MONIQUE MAREZ, 43, PACIFIC PALISADES

I work in Palisades Village. We were in a morning meeting at about 10:45 when I got an alert on my phone from my Ring camera at home saying there was a fire. I zoomed in on the location, and I was like, “Wow, that’s close to here.” Then I looked outside, and literally the entire mountain was on fire. Typically it would only take me seven minutes to get home, but the street was completely gridlocked. My kids were in school. I was determined to get back and get my two kittens and two dogs. But when I got down to the bottom of my hill, this cop was telling everybody to get out of their cars because the fire had come. If I would’ve had my car, I would’ve made it up to my house to get my animals, and I didn’t. We have lost everything.

‘This One Was Different — Walls of Flames and Explosions’

FRANK FIGUEROA, 43, ALTADENA

The fires usually start in the mountains. You can see them coming. This one was different. My house — my entire street — was in flames, and the flames were two stories above the houses. The reality of it was so huge and so powerful, and the wind was so bad. You had to bear yourself against something to not get blown over. It was just walls of flames and explosions.

‘Everything Was in My House, and I Couldn’t Get It Out’

SHERRIE CRUMPLER, 79, MALIBU

This was like Armageddon. I walk with a cane, and I called for help and I thought the firefighters would come, then let me follow them down. But that wasn’t their idea. They said, “You’re going with us now.” Three of them just picked me up, put me in the car. I don’t have a single thing other than what I have on, because everything was in my house and I couldn’t get it out. I am trying not to get myself into the doldrums of the loss. I’m trying to think of what plan God really has for me now, and how do I make use of that?

‘How Much Time Do I Have?’

LEWIS MARVIN, 46, TOPANGA CANYON

I was keeping an eye, looking down on the Pacific Coast Highway. When I noticed the fire crossed the canyon, I thought, “Okay, how much time do I have?” It was unbelievable; it came racing toward me. There’s a water cistern on our property that was built for cattle drives. I jumped down into the water. I was breathing a lot of smoke. I popped my head up a few times to get air. Then I decided just to run. I grabbed the dog from the outdoor patio, shoved him in my truck, and I just gunned it out of there.

A Firefighter Fought to Keep His Own Home

ISAAC BAEZA, 49, ALTADENA

My family evacuated to my best friend’s house, and the next morning I immediately started getting dressed to go back. Altadena was burning down at this point. I’m a fire captain, and I was just praying to God: “Please let my house be standing. Haven’t I done enough? Haven’t I saved enough houses to earn some credits to have my house standing?” And when I got there, my home was standing. Everything around it was burning, though. I went to get the hose, but there was no water. It was so unsafe. There were things on fire on the ground. I tried to do everything I could, but I knew it was getting too bad. The fact that it was my house — I had to try.

‘He Was Able to Get Me to Laugh Between My Tears’

SARA SMITH, 26, PACIFIC PALISADES

‘Get Everyone Out’

HEATHER MCALPINE, 33, ALTADENA

We’re an all-volunteer organization, the Altadena Mountain Rescue. We help people that are typically in distress in our mountainous area, the San Gabriels. When we saw the fire was spreading so quickly, it just turned into a get-everyone-out-asfast-as-possible situation. We were doing a wellness check near my own house, and that’s when I saw that the fire was getting close. I grabbed my cat Tessa and a few of my things. And that was it.

She Couldn’t Save Her Son

SHELLEY SYKES, 62, MALIBU

He Helped Rescue Dozens of Animals

JACOB DEUTSCH, 29, BEVERLY HILLS

My mind went to the animals, right off the bat. I’ve been lucky enough to own a trailer for a long time, and I can fit about 10 horses in there or other livestock, depending on the size. I figured, let me drive around and see what I can do. People started waving me down, and the look on their face — they had no idea what they should do or where they should go with their animals. I’ve saved maybe 95 animals. I’ll keep doing this as long as it takes.

‘Let’s Take Care of Our Patients’

DR. RAVI SALGIA, 64, PASADENA

I came in at 2:30 in the morning to work at my hospital, City of Hope. I huddled with the nurses and said, “Let’s take care of our patients. Let’s prioritize if we have to evacuate, and let’s try to see if we can discharge patients who are safe so they can avoid the fires.” My wife and my daughter followed me. They said, “We’re not going to leave you.” No matter if we lost everything or if we didn’t lose anything — we didn’t really care about that.

‘The Grief of Irreplaceable Things’

LAURA NATIVO, 44, PACIFIC PALISADES

It’s like I’m feeling every emotion under the sun — shock and hysteria and then dark humor, gratitude, trying to remind myself that I am alive and my dog Delilah is alive. Ultimately, I have a lot more than thousands of people right now, so I’m okay. But then last night I was at Nordstrom Rack looking for clothes, and I just broke down hysterical while looking at gray sweatpants because I thought about the gray sweatpants that I loved at home that were cheap, but they fit me really well. It takes years to curate all the material things that make you feel comfortable, and then when all of a sudden you’re faced with starting over and then the grief of the irreplaceable things — it’s so tough.

Turning Survivor’s Guilt Into Action

KATHERINE TURMAN, 61, PASADENA

source: people.com