(11 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Los Angeles – 10 January 2024
1. Don Griffin, standing on his home’s back patio, points out where the Palisades Fire is assumed to have started
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Don Griffin, Witnessed start of wildfire behind home:
"So we’re on Piedra Miranda Drive in the Palisades Highlands coming up from Sunset Boulevard from the Palisades Village. And we’re on the edge of the Santa Monica Mountains. The houses on this street all border the Santa Monica mountains right behind me as a canyon, more or less, that’s heavily vegetated or was heavily vegetated. And the fire started straight across the canyon at about 10:20 Tuesday morning and eventually moved south, which is dropping to my left. And the winds were blowing pretty heavily. So it eventually blew embers all the way down into the Palisades Village. And everybody’s seeing the results on the news."
3. Griffen shows phone pic he took of the beginning of the fire
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Don Griffin, Witnessed start of wildfire behind home:
"I heard that could have been started by a hiker or a homeless person or people lighting fireworks. Could have been the same thing with this fire. There was no lightning. There are no power lines up there. There’s no reason necessarily that a fire would just start by itself. But who knows?"
5. Various smoke still billowing behind Griffin’s home
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Don Griffin, Witnessed start of wildfire behind home:
"So the hillside is heavy brush where the only thing that’s getting through it is wild animals. No access for fire fighters at all. There was one firefighter on the opposite side in the direction behind me that had hoses at the very top that was keeping things damp enough to prevent the fire from going all the way up the hill. And then as the fire approached the houses where I’m standing, firefighters were keeping it under control to protect those homes. But the only way to deal with it was by air with fire retardant and water. And so there was a continuous flow of mostly helicopters and some fixed wing planes dumping water and fire retardants."
7. Various view from Griffin’s pool and deck chairs of area where fire started
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Don Griffin, Witnessed start of wildfire behind home:
"f this fire had started at 3 or 4 in the morning when everyone is sound asleep, it might not have been reported right away. It might have, you know. You know, there might have been a lot of loss of life for people that were sound asleep and didn’t have the opportunity to get up and get out early enough. So in that sense, I guess it’s lucky."
9. Lemon tree in Griffin’s yard that survived the fire
STORYLINE:
A Palisades Highlands homeowner witnessed what’s believed to be the terrifying beginning of one of the most damaging wildfires in California history.
Don Griffin has lived in the home for more than 13 years and was in his backyard on the morning of January 7 when he saw a small plume of smoke rising in the valley behind his property.
Griffin’s neighbor immediately alerted local authorities, but within hours, the flames had escalated, pushed by extreme wind and consuming dry brush.
The fire eventually burned thousands of homes in Pacific Palisades, causing billions of dollars in damage and remains uncontained.
Although an official cause of the fire is not yet known, Griffin suspects it was likely man made, either by accident or on purpose, as there was no lightning the morning it started and there are no power lines in the valley behind his home.
===========================================================
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/cc514ea6841041e980882d0119c40e5e
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in January 16, 2025, 3:04 am.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
