This column is dedicated to our anonymous neighbors who helped save our homes.
My family and I hurriedly evacuated on Tuesday morning, taking two days' worth of clothing and most of our necessary documents. We quickly learned that our home might not survive and accepted that.
While observing the latest information from CalFire, WebsiteWe noticed that our house and the house next door were just outside the fire boundary on the inferno map.
So the next day, when I was able to return to the Palisades as a member of the media, the flames were still roaring and the wind was still howling, so our location on the corner along one of the main routes in the Marques I checked the house. Neighborhood of Knolls.
To my surprise, I found out that the house was indeed still there, and so was the house next door.
The fire was still consuming other buildings further down the street. It was too dangerous to approach them. Nearby firefighters were also working to extinguish a blaze at the local public elementary school further down the street.
But my house wasn't on fire yet. There was smoke rising around the back passage, so I decided to check around the premises.
The picket fence (made of vinyl to protect against termites) had melted in several places. The smoke was coming from an old wooden retaining wall on one side and the fence that separated my property from my neighbor's property.
At first I thought I should just leave. But it occurred to me that if I could find water, I might be able to put out the fire and save my house.
I tried turning on the faucet in the back passage, but nothing came out. I usually keep it coiled around the front garden, but I decided to try a garden hose that can be extended all the way to the back.
The hose wasn't there. Or rather, it wasn't where I expected it to be. Instead, it was fully extended, extending across the driveway and near the melted fence in the backyard.
Apparently a neighbor or a firefighter or someone saw the flames by my fence and hosed it out while there was still water. In doing so, he or she saved the home or at least slowed the approach of the fire.
There was no more water in the pipe. But I noticed water running down the street, either from a broken water main or from firefighting efforts uphill.
I remembered that my son had a bucket of baseballs in the backyard. I threw away the baseball and dipped the bucket into the gutter. Then I put out the fire along the perimeter. They lit the fire first on an old log from a retaining wall and then on a burning fence post. I went back and forth, back and forth.
After about 10 minutes of this, two guys in a pickup truck saw me and jumped out to help me. We found two more buckets and formed a small assembly line. We also extinguished the fire in the trees in the neighboring garden.
“This is the Palisades!” I exclaimed, moved by the fact that these two strangers and an anonymous neighbor helped save me and my neighbor’s home.
Soon the wind changed direction and I noticed that black smoke from the school started flowing in our direction.
“It's time to go,” said one of the men.
It was too late to exchange contact information. “Don't worry,” he joked. “We know where you live.”
We promised to meet again.
We left and continued walking the rest of the Palisades, dodging fire and power lines. Apocalyptic destruction occurred in almost every region. I felt so sorry for my friends and neighbors who had lost so much.
I still don't understand it. I also don't understand why our house was left as it was. I didn't even know if the house would last another night. But I knew it felt good to try, and to have the help of my neighbors.
And I've heard many similar stories of neighbors taking risks to help neighbors.
That's the Palisades, and that's why we're rebuilding.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days in office?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
