LA residents recall harrowing wildfire escape as homes and businesses go up in flames: ‘Like a war zone’

Two Los Angeles residents have detailed their harrowing escape from a wildfire that ripped through their community as they await word on the fate of their home and business.

Palisades Highlands residents Eric Robertson and Tricia Cosentino were forced to evacuate their home Tuesday, along with thousands of others, as flames closed in on their community. The couple described their sudden departure during “America’s Newsroom.”

CALIFORNIA FIRES RAGE THROUGH LOS ANGELES COUNTY, FORCING THOUSANDS TO EVACUATE THEIR HOMES

“We were afraid to stay and we were afraid to leave,” Cosentino told Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino on Wednesday. “It was amazing … our neighbors, we got everyone together and we said we’re all going to go at once. So it was kind of a caravan. How everyone was texting and making sure everyone was safe when we got to the bottom.”

“Everyone I know… has been evacuated, and I’d say half of them lost their homes,” she continued. “I have a job in the village and… I think the whole block was on fire. We watched it burn last night. There are a lot of residents who have businesses, a lot of women who have businesses in the city, and I don’t know how many of them will survive.”

Three forest fires were burning in Los Angeles County, including the Pacific Palisades and Sylmar neighborhoods in Los Angeles and another near the city of Pasadena. As of Wednesday morning, the fires were zero percent contained as strong winds hampered firefighters from deploying aircraft to battle the inferno.

Robertson said as Tuesday wore on, the couple followed the fire and were eventually ordered to evacuate.

“Tricia and her son went down first and were turned around by smoke and flames on both sides of the canyon … and cars blocking the road. They came back home. We heard the evacuation order was lifted, so we didn’t I’m not sure what to do , but then the winds kept getting stronger and smoke was everywhere around us, so we decided to take a break.”

More than 30,000 residents are under evacuation orders and more than 200,000 people were without power in Los Angeles County by Tuesday night.

Officials were forced to bulldoze cars to make way for firefighters fight the flameswhich Robertson compared to a “war zone”.

CLICK HERE TO GET LIVE UPDATES ON SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRES

“Fortunately, police escorted groups of cars down after the other cars were bulldozed, so we were able to get through the congestion point, which looked like a war zone,” Robertson said. “There must have been at least 50, 75 cars pushed to the side from what we saw of the pictures. There was burnt debris on the ground and … fire hoses and roadblocks everywhere.”

“All of our landmarks, our schools, our grocery stores, our churches, everything on the way down to PCH was on fire around us, so it was really hard to see that and then drive away,” he continued .

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart told “Fox & Friends” Wednesday morning that raging forest fires in her city, they are “dynamic and dangerous” and “continue to grow.”

“We are in extreme wind conditions. We have sustained winds and gusts over 80 mph, which is hurricane force. There is no way to stop a wind-driven fire like this, with this topography, from the ground,” she said.

“We have to be able to fly our aircraft. Our helicopters cannot fly in these wind conditions. They are constantly assessing it. Unfortunately, the winds are not forecast to ease in the next few hours,” she continued.

“This is a dynamic and dangerous fire that continues to grow. We have a lot of damaged and destroyed structures, but we’re not able to quantify that at this time,” Stewart also said. “We had injuries to both firefighters and civilians.”

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