Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr. lost his home and Olympic medal in the wildfires that swept through the Los Angeles area.
News that Hall lost his home and medal came through his father, Gary Hall Sr., who is also an Olympian, and he posted about the incident on social media. Hall Jr. spoke about the evacuation himself in an interview. 12 News.
“It's not just a house. It's all worldly possessions,” Hall Jr. said from his sister's home. “I'm a guy who really has nothing to lose.
“It grew quickly and then the flames rose and I could see the houses going up one by one as it moved down the hill to where I was. It wasn't that far when I started driving. did.”
Hall Jr. fled the scene, only grabbing the dog and several other items.
Hall Jr., a native of California, won 10 Olympic gold medals: five gold, three silver, and two bronze.
“It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before,” Hall Jr. said. “So many people lost everything. Nothing was built where I lived.”
Hall Jr. had his home in Pacific Palisades, the epicenter of the massive fire.
“People were abandoning their cars and just running,” Hall Jr. said. “Fortunately, they were able to pull it off, but it was unlike any other apocalypse movie I've ever seen. That's the closest thing to this experience for me.”
