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A California man had to help his 83-year-old father-in-law using a walker escape from the Palisades wildfire on foot after the flames began approaching the traffic they were stuck in.
In video shared with CBS Mornings of their escape, Aaron Samson guided his father-in-law from the vehicle they had been in to the sidewalk, where they proceeded to walk to safety.
Aaron Samson and his 83-year-old father-in-law, who has Parkinson’s disease, captured their terrifying escape on foot from the Palisades Fire.
He shares their harrowing story of survival with CBS Mornings: “I can’t put it into words how big it is and how much it affected my… pic.twitter.com/pdmhh6GCu4
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 9, 2025
“This is crazy. There’s a fire right outside our car,” Samson says in the video as the camera pans toward the trees. Flames and smoke can be seen rising from just yards away from a street full of vehicles.
As the father-in-law, who has Parkinson’s disease, begins heading one way, Samson turns back to him and guides him in the right direction.
“Come on Dad, turn around. We got this, we got this,” Samson says. “Come on, turn around. Keep on walking down the hill.” Car horns can be heard honking and emergency lights can be seen flashing in the distance.
Samson and his father-in-law made it out safely from the fires. They had originally caught a ride from a neighbor after deciding to evacuate, but became stuck in traffic.
“We were completely stuck in traffic and the fire jumped about probably 15 feet from the car on the right. And at that point just being stuck there surrounded by fire, the policemen began running up the street [yelling] ‘Get out of the car! Get out of the car!'” Samson told CBS Mornings.
As of Thursday morning, more than 100,000 people have been displaced and at least five have been killed by the wildfires fueled by strong winds in Los Angeles.
About 2,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed in the blaze, amounting to more than $50 billion in estimated damages, according to AccuWeather.
Originally published by Latin Times.
