'I'm very grateful': Stories of heroism emerge as Los Angeles infernos rage

Los Angeles -

Acrid smoke shrouded the sky in Altadena, California, as Gail watched flames from the raging Eaton Fire swallow her next-door neighbour’s house.

Each ember carried by powerful gusts of wind could be the spark that ignites the home she has lived in for the past decade – and all she can do is watch.

• IN PICTURES: Devastating wildfires rip through southern California

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Although she’s made several calls to 911, Gail tells CNN “obviously they’re very busy.”

Several fires are raging around Los Angeles, devastating neighbourhoods and straining firefighting resources. At least five people have died, and multiple others have sustained “significant injuries,” authorities have said.

As flames spread to Gail’s property, burning down her garage, community members came to help.

“I don’t know who all these guys are who are helping to save my house right now but I’m very grateful,” she says.

Volunteers have grabbed water hoses and are trying desperately to keep the flames at bay by dousing Gail’s roof and yard. But as the wind shifts, a sobering reality sets in.

“I’m happy that it’s standing right now, but I don’t have a lot of hope,” she admits.

The wildfires in Los Angeles County together consumed thousands of acres in just over a day, with the blaze near Altadena quadrupling in size in a matter of hours Wednesday. To the west, the Palisades Fire is already among the most destructive fires in California history – and none of it has been contained.

But even as the fires rage, stories of heroism are beginning to emerge.

Thousands of local firefighters and first responders are trying to contain the flames and evacuate residents – even as their own homes ignite.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said several of his employees have lost their homes to the flames.

His deputies were forced to evacuate the Altadena sheriff’s station in the middle of the night, he said at a Wednesday news conference. As they fled, “residents were running up from different locations … asking them for assistance in getting them out of their structures,” Luna said.

“They were barely able to get people out before these structures started burning.”

Working under immense heat and thick smoke, some firefighters and first responders are pulling 48-hour shifts, pivoting their efforts between battling the flames and evacuating residents and protecting lives.

“Firefighters here on the line, they’re exhausted. You can see it in their eyes, but they’re not leaving here until they have relief,” Brent Pascua, a battalion chief for Cal Fire, told CNN Wednesday.

As the fires burn throughout Los Angeles County – and edge closer to historic Hollywood symbols – the National Guard has been deployed to help with the response to the fires.

“This is a tragic time in our history here in Los Angeles, but a time when we’re really tested and see who we really are,” Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

The infernos were fueled by powerful gusts of wind of up to 100 miles per hour that grounded flights and briefly halted any efforts to douse the flames from the air.

Some firefighters have had to take shelter from the flames in vehicles as winds picked up, McDonnell said.

“The winds were like something that I’ve never seen before. Firefighters, police officers, deputies, they’re out there sheltering in their vehicles, in their trucks and their cars, so that they don’t end up getting burned from the fire,” McDonnell said.

“They were there until they could get out of the car and go back to doing their work.”

As the Eaton Fire advanced on homes, police officers went door to door to evacuate people, including elderly residents and people with mobility limitations, officials said Wednesday.

“They saved many, many lives in the last 22 hours,” Pasadena City Manager Miguel Marquez said at a news conference. “Their efforts were heroic.”

Los Angeles City Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said the department responded to over 3,600 calls for service in 24 hours – more than double the number of calls received on an average day.

Harsh winds have made the fires unpredictable. Driving through neighbourhoods in Altadena, homes on either side of the street can be seen engulfed in flames, while others sit untouched. Then, in a matter of minutes, everything changes. Trees, cars and buildings ignite, and the air becomes heavy and metallic, filled with chemicals and smoke.

Tires pop, gas tanks explode and power lines crumple, all while residents stand by helplessly and watch as their entire lives are swallowed by the blaze.

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“Last night was one of the most devastating and terrifying nights that we’ve seen in any part of our city, at any part of our history,” Marqueece Harris-Dawson, president of the Los Angeles City Council, said at the news conference Wednesday.

“Fire literally jumping roads, taking out structures, and our public safety professionals created an environment where injuries were kept to a minimum. Fatalities were kept to a minimum,” he added.

“We wake up this morning with a renewed spirit that we can defeat this fire and move on to a brighter day.”