CNN team describes fleeing Southern California wildfire as flames surrounded their vehicle

CNN

By Hanna Park, CNN

(CNN) — CNN national correspondent Natasha Chen and her team were wrapping up a long day of reporting on the devastating wildfires racing through the Los Angeles area on Tuesday, as the sun set over the scorched landscape.

But what began as a routine assignment quickly escalated into a dangerous ordeal, as flames threatened homes and prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents.

“We were there from about noon until just after 6 p.m. local time when we had just finished our last live shot,” Chen recounted to CNN’s Rosemary Church. “What we hadn’t quite surmised was exactly how bad it had gotten south of us on the Pacific Coast Highway. We had heard reports that the flames jumped the highway, but we hadn’t seen with our own eyes just what that meant.”

A harrowing escape through chaos

After finishing their broadcast in Pacific Palisades, Chen and her crew approached a firefighter for guidance on how to safely exit the area. “We pulled up to a fire truck and waved at a firefighter, asking, ‘Where do you think is the best way to get out of here?’ He shook his head and said, ‘Well, I guess if you go south.’ So that’s what we did.”

As they drove south, the situation was far worse than what they were prepared for.

“Pretty quickly, we realized there were flames on both sides of the highway. Embers were flying over the road. I spotted an emergency vehicle and decided our best bet was to follow that car as closely as possible. If he’s driving, then he probably knows the best way out,” Chen said.

What followed was a harrowing ride through chaos captured on video from inside their vehicle showing flames and dancing embers all around.

“I’m hearing an explosion on my right, houses on fire right up against the road on the left,” Chen described. “I’m holding my breath, feeling the heat from inside the car as I watch the embers fly across the windshield. It was not ideal.”

“We felt a concussion while driving past the homes on fire – an explosion that felt like it hit the car, but it was just the wavelengths of energy that hit us,” said CNN producer Kat Jaeger, who was with Chen. “There was no damage to our car. I’ve never felt anything like it.” CNN photojournalist Tom Larson noted it felt like what he had encountered in war zones, Jaeger said.

A look into what residents are going through

“We get put on a lot of risky assignments, and we had to make a calculated risk for the best way to leave. Thankfully, we got out of there,” Chen said.

Yet, the destruction Chen witnessed left a haunting impression.

“We got a real look at just the level of destruction – and the fear that a lot of those residents might be feeling. I can’t imagine. They’re wondering if their house is the next one on fire and if they have anything to go home to,” she said.

By the end of the day, the fire had engulfed at least 2,000 acres, a huge escalation from initial reports of a mere 20 acres.

“This thing really exploded and moved at several football fields per minute throughout the day,” she added. “That’s what caught a lot of the residents by surprise. They’re not strangers to wildfires, but they had not seen something this close to their homes, this fast.”

Many residents were forced to make frantic decisions about what to save. “They packed up what they could: their parents’ wedding rings, their most important documents,” she explained.

“One person said it almost doesn’t seem real or doesn’t make sense,” Chen recalled.

“If you look to one side, you have the Pacific Ocean right there, but everything is hazy with smoke. We’re talking about the iconic Pacific Coast Highway – the scenes you see out of the Barbie movie – it’s not all sunshine and pink dresses. We’re talking about very hazy smoke, explosions, flames, palm trees on fire, buildings on fire. People were legitimately afraid today.”

The geography of the area compounded evacuation efforts, Chen said.

“Once they’re downhill, you only have the Pacific Coast Highway to get either north or south,” she said. “If there’s a fire leaping across it, then you’re pretty stuck. That’s kind of where we found ourselves after we finished our last live shot, not knowing exactly how bad it was where the flames had jumped.”

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