The heartbreaking accounts of Palisades residents after the fire: 'Everything is gone'

The wildfire in Pacific Palisades (California) has already forced at least 80,000 people from their homes due to the destruction caused by the blaze. Dozens of houses, parks and other buildings have already been consumed by the flames and behind all of them there are neighbors who, in their own words, have lost everything.

According to Cal Fire, the fire in this town started last Tuesday, January 7 at 10:30 a.m. local time. Since then, it has spread to at least 11,802 acres.

Among the evacuees was David Latt, who has lived in the neighborhood with his family for years. As he told Radio 4's "Today" program, he and his wife had just ten minutes to grab everything they could from their home before being forced to leave.

It was just another day for him when a neighbor alerted him to what was happening, possibly saving his life. "I didn't know what he was even talking about until I went outside and I saw, about four blocks away up a hill, a very large plume of black smoke. And then I realized; 'oh, we need to get out of here!'" he recalled.

With little time to assemble a travel backpack, he managed to collect important documents, family photos and anything "we could fit in our two cars." Before leaving, he checked the wind direction from the terrace of his house. When he put his finger down and realized it was coming in his direction and he could feel it on his face, he knew it was time to leave.

With Pacific Palisades access limited to only one freeway, Latt and his wife were stuck in traffic for two hours as they tried to flee.

As for the status of their home, he said he knows virtually nothing, but given the number of planes he could see heading toward the neighborhood, he didn't hesitate to describe the situation as "terrifying."

"What we know from experience is that even though the firefighters are doing a remarkable job in putting out areas of fire, but some sparks remain... the wind picks it up, carries the embers which can go across the street or a mile away... That's what the concern is in LA tonight," he said.

"All of our friends have lost everything"

Maria Shriver, former first lady of California and also a Pacific Palisades resident, also recounted the passage of the flames through her neighborhood.

"Heartbreaking, devastating, beyond belief. Everything is gone. Our neighborhood, our restaurants. All our friends have lost everything. We have evacuated, but are safe. But people have lost everything," she wrote on her Instagram account.

The actress also took the opportunity to encourage neighbors to stay safe and obey the authorities at all times. For example, in Palisades, firefighters told people to get out of their cars as the fire, which was fueled by wind gusts of up to 100 mph, approached.

"The firefighters have and are doing their best, but this fire is massive and out of control, and now there are multiple fires burning across Los Angeles. We in this city will put our arms around one another," Shriver added.

Actor Steve Guttenberg was another neighbor who spoke about the fires, in this case with CNN's Laura Coates. "I haven’t seen anything like this in my entire life and I don’t think many people have. At 9 o’clock in the morning, it was an idyllic Pacific Palisades, and then by 10 o’clock, 10:30, the sky was dark as if it were nighttime," he noted.

At the same time, he commented on the heavy traffic to get out of the neighborhood. He even had to get out of his vehicle to help his neighbors.

"There were mothers who were hysterical [having] panic attacks, helping them with their suitcases and they were worried about their families up there because they couldn’t get them out in time. There were little kids crying. There were people who couldn’t speak English, driving their friends cars or their bosses cars and being careful where they drove," the actor added.