As the Palisades Fire continues to rage just north of Santa Monica, some local residents have chosen to stay in place while also preparing for the worst, while others have headed for safety.
At 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, Cal Fire provided the latest updates on the fire, confirming a massive growth in acreage burned. The blaze has now consumed 11,802 acres with zero percent containment. There has been no change to the evacuation order and warning areas in Santa Monica, with evacuations orders above San Vicente Boulevard between Ocean Avenue and 26th Street, and a warning between Montana Avenue and San Vicente Boulevard.
One couple that evacuated was Ryan and Ashley Cochran, as even though the two live at 11th and Broadway, they felt the need to leave the area Tuesday evening.
“When it was announced (Tuesday) that Montana was under an evacuation warning and with the wind so strong and unpredictable, we didn’t want to risk going to bed and have things escalate dramatically,” Cochran said. “There’s a lot of concrete between us and the fire, but figured better safe than sorry, and better to leave while the roads were clear rather than risk an evacuation order in the morning during rush hour.”
While the couple left, others have stayed despite the surreal conditions. Brian Hires, who lives with his sister at 4th and Bay St., was full of paranoia as the winds climbed Tuesday.
“(It’s been) awful,” Hires said. “Smoke everywhere, hard to breathe, (we) prepared a bag to head out. We were prepared to evacuate and we couldn’t sleep due to the high winds and panic. When I saw the smoke, it made me want to evacuate ASAP.”
Despite his feelings, he chose to stay put out of courtesy for others in more dire situations.
“We weren’t at a high risk … and we thought if others needed to use the road to evacuate, we wanted to make sure it was available for them,” he said, adding that locals should consider wearing a mask outside due to the air quality.
Similarly, resident Heather Maggi has chosen to stay in Santa Monica despite the “very smoky” conditions.
“It was surreal,” Maggi said of her Palisades Fire experience so far. “I just watched the smoke creeping closer all day and by this morning, (I was) totally enveloped. I’ve always felt pretty (safe) surrounded by concrete apartments and businesses, but when the evacuation warning went up … I thought ‘that is only a mile (from me), is that enough concrete?’”
Maggi said she found some solace that the evacuation line has not expanded as of Wednesday morning, but has a “bag packed and found a friend” who is ready to host her in the event of an emergency.
