When destruction occurs, it often uproots more than physical homes and buildings—it rips apart the very fabric of community.
For Sarah Trepanier, a Navy veteran, single mother of four, and emergency room physician, the wildfires in California reduced her home and beloved community to ashes this week.
On Tuesday, Trepanier and her family evacuated their home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, on Swarthmore Avenue.
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Mom and her a 14-year-old daughterRemy Trepanier, were in tears as they spoke to Fox News Digital about the loss of their home and how they managed to get out amid the chaos and destruction. (Watch the video at the top of this article.)
“I decided to walk my dog a block away as I went around the corner to Main Street on the cliff,” Sara Trepanier said. “You could see a little a wisp of smoke not on our hill, but on the hill on the left.”
Veteran, emergency physician and mother of four, Sara Trepanier, second from right, lost her home and entire community in the California wildfires this week. (Sara Trepanier)
“As we watched it, it just went over the hill very quickly. Within 10 minutes you could see these huge flames,” she said.
“This is miles away. It’s not on our direct hill. So, like emergency physicianI’m usually very calm, but I said, ‘It’s going so fast. Is.’ You could tell he was climbing over the hill,” she said.
“The winds were so strong – that’s what led to this [occur at] ridiculous pace,” she said.
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“So in the end we tried to evacuate. In the end, when our neighbors evacuated, we hurried outside the house,said mom.
Originally from North Carolina, Trepanier said she was used to dealing with hurricanes and consulted with her neighbors after leaving with a mutual agreement to evacuate areas in phases.
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“The only thing we’ve heard is that there have been no deaths in the Palisades, which shows the community that they know how to do this,” she said. “They know that, with all due respect, let the people in the direct line go.”
Trepanier said the fires spread so quickly given the strong winds that no one expected the city to be leveled. She took this picture. (Sara Trepanier)
She added: “Our neighbor was one who had lived there all his life. He was directing us to hang around and see until it was time – and you could see it coming towards town,” she added.
said daughter Remy every member of the family took only one suitcase with some clothes, along with their dog and some dog food.
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“We just started down the street and it was like a dead zone. There was nobody, it was ashen, so we ended up finding our way through Santa Monica and into Venice, to hotel“, said mom.
“We’re just seeing footage of my high school burning.”
When they heard that the fire had engulfed their community, the daughter said her heart sank.
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“We only see my videos gymnasium burning and then [the homes of] all those friends of ours across the street from the high school who are lighting themselves up,” said the teenager.
“I get all these messages [from] all my friends. One after another they are losing their houses.”
Sara Trepanier lost her home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, on Swarthmore Avenue. She took this photo above. (Sara Trepanier)
Only two houses in the family block survived the fire.
Sara Trepanier is currently looking for a real estate for rent for her family.
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Through teary eyes, the daughter shared her admiration for her mother, reflecting on her resilience and describing how her mother remained calm and determined.
Trepanier, a California evacuee and mother of four, said the hardest part was losing her entire community. He is currently looking for a rental property for his family. (Sara Trepanier)
“She doesn’t give herself enough credit,” the daughter shared, noting that her mom served in the active navy four years, and then six years in the reserve.
Mother said that this is the hardest thing to come to terms with schoolslocal businesses and the entire town are now gone.
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“I think about what affects me the most [about] the house is actually this precious community that was so amazing … I don’t think anyone imagined it [the fire] would wipe out the whole city.”
A friend of the family started a GoFundMe fundraiser called “Sarah’s Home Totally Lost in CA Fires.”
