FOX Weather’s Robert Ray recorded this video of the aftermath of the Palisades Fire that ripped through parts of the Los Angeles metro area.
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – As the sun rose over the breathtaking ocean vistas of the Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, it painted a serene scene with a golden glow for single mother Melanie Bonhomme. It would soon become a fleeting whisper of peace before a hurricane of fire would forever alter her life.
DEATHS FROM CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES EXPECTED TO INCREASE AS FIRES CONTINUE TO DEVASTATE LOS ANGELES
Melanie Bonhomme’s idyllic life in Pacific Palisades was shattered by the devastating wildfires that destroyed her home and forced her to flee with her 4-year-old son.
(Melanie Bonhomme)
The Village’s charming downtown, once a haven of peace, would be engulfed by a raging inferno, likely the costliest wildfire event in U.S. history. In a matter of hours, the fiery beast that awoke from its slumber deep within the canyons destroyed the 36-year-old estate manager’s apartment, located across from Theatre Palisades.
With nothing but the clothes on their backs and a suitcase filled with years of precious memories, the real devastation awaited. The fragile security Bonhomme had built for her 4-year-old son, Atlas, was about to crumble before her eyes.
PHOTOS: STRIKING IMAGES SHOW DEVASTATION CAUSED BY LOS ANGELES-AREA WILDFIRES
The sun is seen behind smoke above charred structures after the passage of the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on January 8, 2025.
(AGUSTIN PAULLIER/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
At 11:32 a.m., Bonhomme’s phone rang. Her son’s nanny, panicked by smoke billowing over the mountain, was rushing to retrieve Atlas from school.
“His teachers were calling me all of a sudden, something that seemed kind of far away had become suddenly very, very close in an uncomfortable way,” she recalled.
As she drove two hours from Chatsworth to reunite with her son, she couldn’t grasp the reality of what she faced in a scene of chaos.
BEFORE AND AFTER IMAGES SHOW THE EXTENT OF WILDFIRE DAMAGE AROUND LOS ANGELES
The Village’s charming downtown, once a haven of peace, would be engulfed by a raging inferno, likely the costliest wildfire event in U.S. history.
(Melanie Bonhomme)
Wildfires? Sure. She lived in Southern California, where they were a constant backdrop to her work life in Malibu and Calabasas – places she associated with danger. It was a professional hazard, something she could mentally brace for. This was different. This wasn’t about work. This was now about her son.
“I ran into my apartment and grabbed what I could. I don’t even know what I was thinking,” she said. “I grabbed our passports, toothbrushes, my dog‘s ashes, my grandmother’s ashes and got out of there.”
HOW DID THE LOS ANGELES-AREA WILDFIRES RAPIDLY SPREAD?
Bonhomme lost everything except a suitcase filled with 36 years of cherished memories after the Pacific Palisades Fire.
(Melanie Bonhomme)
Desperate for shelter, Bonhomme and her son accepted a friend’s offer to stay at their house in the Hollywood Hills. The normally 30-minute drive stretched into nearly three hours, a journey she never imagined would lead to permanent separation from a life she worked so hard to build.
As a new day emerged, a fifth wildfire would erupt Wednesday night above Hollywood Boulevard, near Runyon Canyon, forcing a second evacuation of at least 130,000 residents as the blaze threatened some of Los Angeles‘ most beloved tourist destinations, including the iconic Hollywood sign.
“All of these other fires started popping, and you just start to feel surrounded by flames, literally,” Bonhomme said.
WATCH: LOS ANGELES HOME COLLAPSES LIVE ON FOX WEATHER AS WILDFIRES RAGE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
A firefighting helicopter drops water as the Sunset Fire burns in the Hollywood Hills with evacuations ordered on January 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Over 1,000 structures have burned, with two people dead, in wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds across L.A. County.
(Mario Tama / Getty Images)
Again, gripped by terror, Bonhomme fled the advancing inferno in her only lifeline as she drove through the night towards Palm Springs. In the backseat, Atlas slept soundly, unaware of the danger or the terror gripping his mother.
The coming days, weeks and months hold an uncertain path for Bonhomme and her son.
“I have no idea. I wish I could answer that question right now,” she said. “What’s next for me is building some Legos with my son and figuring out breakfast, because that’s as far as I can plan right now.”
Bonhomme acknowledges the profound impact the fire has had on her and her son. She questions her ability to ever return to the charred remains of her home, both physically and emotionally.
“I don’t have the support to be able to plan in that way because it’s just the two of us, and I can’t expose him to that,” she said.
The map has become her battlefield, with each road a potential escape route and each town a fleeting hope as she becomes a refugee in her own state.
This wasn’t the life she envisioned for her son – a life lived in the shadow of constant fear, a life dictated by the whims of fire and natural disasters. The realization struck her with the force of a blow: She couldn’t do this alone.
Then, a miracle.
Burned trees and wildfire smoke from the Palisades Fire are seen from Will Rogers State Park with the City of Los Angeles in the distance, on January 9, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
(Apu Gomes / Getty Images)
A community of strangers, moved by her plight, offered a new lifeline – over $33,000 raised on GoFundMe. The monetary beacon of hope in her darkness will secure temporary shelter, replace lost belongings and provide her son with the stability and security he so desperately needs.
“It’s incredibly overwhelming and humbling, and the amount of gratitude that I feel is immeasurable,” she said. “I will forever be grateful for these people coming out of the woodwork to help support us to rebuild. If there’s anything that I can do to help support others, I want to be a part of that.”
As Bonhomme navigates her new reality, she prays for the safety and peace of her Pacific Palisades community, her heart aching for all her neighbors who have also lost everything.
“You never think it will happen to you,” she said, her voice a somber reflection, “until it does.”