LA homeowner leaves the internet in tears with a heartbreaking request to a reporter amid California wildfires
One man’s desperate attempt to flee his home with his belongings as the apocalyptic wildfires rage in Los Angeles has touched the hearts of thousands of people.
In a clip uploaded by NBCLAreporter Robert Kovacik approaches a homeowner trying to get on his bike and leave his Pacific Palisades home as the wind whips around the couple and sparks fly.
The man is seen carrying a large tote bag on his shoulder as he tries to get on his bike while holding the two framed paintings.
“What can we do to help sir?” the reporter asked, as the man struggled to hold the artwork and told Kovacik that his backyard was on fire.
“I think you can take these paintings with you,” he says, his voice cracking.
“I can’t drive this,” the homeowner notes sadly.
Moments earlier, Kovacik had described the situation as being like being in a hurricane, “in the middle of a forest fire.”
According to the NBCLA report published on January 8, the video was recorded around 9:30 p.m.
In a clip uploaded by NBCLA, reporter Robert Kovacik approaches a man trying to get on his bike and leave his home in the Pacific Palisades as the wind whips around them and sparks fly.
Kovacik told the distressed man that he would take the paintings with him and assured him that he would see to it that they returned to him safely.
The homeowner then flees the scene on his bicycle.
Viewers were left heartbroken at the sad look at things, with the comments section of the clip, posted on social media, flooded with sympathetic messages.
“I’m actually crying, this is so sad,” one viewer wrote.
“Please take me back to see this man reunited with his paintings because they must be special to him,” one user wrote.
‘The emotion of asking him to take the paintings! He was probably already grieving. Poor guy,” another added.
Less than 48 hours after the initial spark, the wildfire is on track to become the most destructive fire in LA history. The fire destroyed the glitzy mansions of celebrities and caused an estimated $48 billion in damage.
The Santa Ana winds then fanned the flames through this dry vegetation, leading to the out-of-control fires.
Kovacik told the stricken man that he would take the paintings and assured him that he would get them back
Users were left heartbroken for the homeowner, with the comments section of the clip, posted to social media, flooded with sympathetic messages
A man walks in front of the burning Altadena Community Church, Wednesday, January 8, 2025, in Pasadena, California
A webcam screenshot at 11:31 p.m. shows parts of LA completely engulfed in flames
The Sunset Fire breaks out in the Hollywood Hills, prompting rapid responses from firefighters
Vast swaths of iconic real estate in California, from Malibu to Santa Monica, and from Pacific Palisades to Runyon Canyon, are burning – impacting millions of people caught off guard by the unprecedented spread and carnage.
As of Thursday morning, the largest inferno consumed nearly 40,000 acres in the picturesque Pacific Palisades neighborhood, home to many film, television and music stars.
In Studio City, several homes caught fire late Wednesday after a fire broke out in a four-story building and spread to neighboring properties.
So far, at least five people have been killed in the disaster, which destroyed two thousand structures and left thousands of people in the city with nothing but ash.
The death toll is expected to rise as police and fire departments prepare to deploy K-9 units trained in detecting human remains.
More than 130,000 people are still under evacuation orders in Southern California after several notable TV, movie and music stars announced on social media that they had lost their homes.
Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes, Paris Hilton, James Woods, Billy Crystal and his wife Janice all claimed to have seen their homes go up in smoke during the Palisades Fire.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the initial damage and economic loss at more than $50 billion.