LA man saves street from ‘apocalyptic’ fires

A brain surgeon in Los Angeles who fought for almost a week to save the houses on his street from fires told the BBC that he had spent 15 years preparing for such an event.

Malibu resident Dr. Chester Griffiths, 62, ignored the Palisades fire to keep the flames at bay with the help of his son and a neighbor until emergency services were able to reach them.

“We always knew the fire would come at some point, but we didn’t know when,” Dr Griffiths told the BBC’s Today Programme.

“We never imagined it would be this catastrophic and apocalyptic.”

Griffiths said he had just finished undergoing brain surgery to fight the blaze with his sons Chester Jnr and Colbert last week before returning to the streets of Malibu.

“Houses were falling like dominoes,” he said.

Fortunately, he and his neighbor, Clayton Colbert, developed a plan of action in the event of such a fire and got hoses they could use.

Connecting four hoses to fire hydrants, Dr. Griffiths, his son and Mr. Colbert positioned themselves on nearby rooftops to douse the flames with water and use dirt to extinguish embers on the ground.

“For about 12 hours burning embers were coming down on us,” Dr Griffiths said.

The trio was joined by only firefighters in the final days of the week-long emergency because resources were “so stretched” by the number of fires in the Los Angeles area.

“(Firefighters) thought not all the houses could be saved,” Dr Griffiths said.

He says he “totally understands” why the fire service was too busy to help, adding: “That’s why it’s so important to train in advance, have your own equipment and really have the support of your community.”

Los Angeles fire crews are battling two large fires and two smaller ones as they brace for more destruction.

The Palisades Fire, which is burning west of the city between Santa Monica and Malibu, has destroyed more than 23,000 hectares, and is one of the most destructive in the history of California.

At least 24 people have died in the fires and another 23 are missing in the Eaton and Palisades fire zones, and more than 90,000 are under evacuation orders.

They are neighbors ready for more destruction as weather forecasts indicate that the winds that help fuel the flames may reignite.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said “preparations” are underway ahead of hurricane-force winds expected through Tuesday.

President Biden has said that it will cost tens of billions of dollars to rebuild the areas of the city that burned in fires in almost a week.