Moments Amid the Los Angeles Fires

From a reporter with a hose, to student researchers testing for toxic soil, to an emotional reunion at an animal shelter, these stories highlight the powerful and moving moments of the 2025 wildfires.

When the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted across Los Angeles this year, the destruction was swift and overwhelming. Homes were lost, lives upended, and entire neighborhoods were reduced to rubble. The fires, fueled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and prolonged drought conditions, rapidly consumed over 57,000 acres, leading to the evacuation of more than 200,000 residents. Emergency services were stretched thin as firefighters battled multiple blazes simultaneously, striving to protect both lives and property. Amid the chaos, stories of resilience and solidarity emerged, showcasing the community’s unwavering spirit. But in the middle of the smoke and chaos, everyday people responded. At times with bravery, sometimes with science, and sometimes with hope. This piece captures a handful of those moments, showing the different ways Angelenos showed up when their city needed it most.

Journalist on the Front Lines: John Fenoglio

When KTLA reporter John Fenoglio showed up to cover the Eaton Fire, he didn’t expect to stop it from spreading. But that’s exactly what happened.

The fire had already torn through parts of Altadena when Fenoglio went live on-air. As he stood in front of the camera describing the damage, he realized something behind him had changed. The house that was just steps away from where he was conducting his live report had caught fire.

There were no firefighters in sight.

“I was in the middle of my hit,” Fenoglio said. “And then I saw the flames. The homeowners weren’t there, and I just thought, okay, I’ve got to do something.”

Without hesitating, he dropped his mic and grabbed a garden hose from the yard. He started spraying down the side of the house, aiming at the flames until they died down.

“I wasn’t thinking as a journalist at that moment,” he said. “It was just instinct.”

Fenoglio has covered wildfires, protests, and shootings during his time at KTLA. And like most journalists, he’s been trained to observe, not interfere. But in that moment, he said the line between observer and participant disappeared.

“I came to report on the destruction, and I never expected that I would have to become a part of it,” he said. “But sometimes, the story pulls you in.”

It wasn’t until later that he realized what he had done saved the home.

“I did what anyone would have done,” Fenoglio said. “If I was the homeowner I would have wanted someone to do the same for me.”

Researchers Stepping Up: Seth John, Phil Kong, and Cat Odendahl

While firefighters were putting out flames, scientists at USC were quietly working to understand what the fires left behind.

Professor Seth John, who teaches Earth Sciences at USC, teamed up with students Phil Kong and Cat Odendahl to test soil samples from the burn zones in Altadena and the Palisades. The goal was simple: find out if toxic materials were left in the ground.

Using a tool called a fluorometer, they brought soil back to USC’s labs and tested for lead contamination. According to California’s public health benchmarks, any soil sample above 80 parts per million (ppm) of lead is considered dangerous. Some of their readings were higher than that.

“In one of our Altadena samples, the lead levels were at 108 ppm,” said Kong. “That’s a real concern.”

Other samples, like one from the Palisades, came in lower at around 11 ppm, but still raised red flags, especially in areas where children play.

Odendahl said the project started with just a few grad students going out on weekends to collect dirt, but flourished into impactful work.

“But now we’re transitioning to a full community outreach program,” she said. “It’s called Project CLEAN. We invite the public to bring in samples from their backyard, their kids’ school, the park and we’ll test them for free.”

John said the group launched the initiative after hearing that FEMA wasn’t doing post remediation testing on homes within the fire zones. Lead contamination can be deadly, at any level and is known to cause serious health consequences according to the World health Organization.  

“Myself and other faculty members know people who lost everything in these fires,” John said. “We just wanted to see if there was something we could do to make a difference.”

The findings have sparked growing community interest. Local parents have reached out with questions about schoolyard soil quality, and a handful of neighborhood councils have begun circulating information about Project CLEAN in their newsletters. Although the team’s resources are limited, they hope this kind of grassroots awareness will push public agencies to prioritize post-fire environmental safety in future disaster responses.

The team is now tracking every sample on a master excel spreadsheet, using the data to raise awareness about what might still be lurking in the soil long after the flames are gone.

Firefighters on the Front Lines: Israel Galindo

While civilians evacuated, Los Angeles firefighters pushed deeper into the heart of the danger, facing walls of heat and smoke as they worked to protect neighborhoods. For Israel Galindo, a rookie with the Los Angeles Fire Department, the 2025 wildfire season marked a dramatic and intense beginning to his career.

“This was my first real season and it hit hard,” Galindo said. “We were doing 18 hour shifts with hardly any rest. I have never stayed up so late in my life or did one thing for so long”

He recalled moments when the team would finally gain control over one blaze, only to see another ignite nearby. “Every time we thought we had one fire contained, the winds would shift, and a new one would break out,” he said. “It was like I was playing whack-a-mole for hours and hours. It just kept coming and I just had to keep going.”

The hardest part, he explained, was the sheer unpredictability. Fires would jump across roads, tear through canyons, and turn entire neighborhoods into ash in a matter of minutes. “You’d think you were safe, then suddenly flames would come roaring in from another direction,” he said. “They move fast, and they move without warning.”

Physically, the job pushed him to the limit. “You try to stay focused, but your body’s breaking down,” he said. “I never thought my body could go this long without any breaks but still, you just keep going. You keep going until it’s out.”

Throughout the fires, Galindo said his family was constantly worried for his safety, and he was too.

“I’ve never fought fire with those types of winds,” he said. “The winds were very strong that day and I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know if I was going to die or something because everywhere I went it was burning. It was scary to think that something could possibly happen to me at that moment.”

Galindo said the bond between firefighters made the difference. During brief pauses between calls, they shared snacks, gave each other updates, and tried to check in with their families when they had a signal. That sense of teamwork was what kept morale from collapsing.

“You don’t really get used to it,” Galindo said. “But you do find a rhythm. And more than anything, you lean on each other. I enjoy going to work because even though it takes a toll on you, I get to do it alongside my friends.”

A Reunion No One Expected: Katherine Kiefer

For 82 year old Katherine Kiefer, the fires didn’t just destroy her home. They separated her from Aggie, the cat she’d raised for more than a decade.

When Kiefer was forced to evacuate her Palisades home quickly, Aggie disappeared during the chaos. Weeks passed. Then months. Each time she returned to what was left of her home, now just ash and twisted metal is what remains. After seeing what was left of her home she had almost lost all hope.

“I went back to the property a couple times and didn’t see how anything could have possibly survived,” Kiefer said. “I was in shock and still in disbelief.”

But in late February, she got a call from the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter. They had a long haired cat with multiple injuries, but alive.

“It was Aggie,” Kiefer said, smiling. “I really needed this special moment because in all of the bad, it was uplifting to have this little moment of good.”

Aggie had survived extensive burns and smoke inhalation. After two months of treatment, the shelter reunited her with Kiefer, who is now living with family while she figures out what’s next.

“I lost 50 years of memories in that house,” she said. “But being back with my cat means the world.” If you would like to support Katherine and Aggie in their journey to recovery you can donate to their GoFundMe.

Timeline and Impact

To understand the scale and pace of the crisis, it helps to look at the timeline. The fires began on January 7, 2025, with the Eaton and Palisades fires rapidly spreading due to extreme drought and 100 mph Santa Ana winds. By January 8, more fires had sparked, including the Woodley and Lidia fires, prompting widespread evacuations across multiple counties and overwhelming emergency services.

A federal disaster declaration was issued on January 9 as the Palisades Fire exceeded 17,000 acres and the Eaton Fire surpassed 10,000. The following day, both fires continued to grow, leading to a 12 hour evacuation curfew and road closures throughout key transportation corridors. Containment remained minimal throughout the month, just 11% for the Palisades and 15% for Eaton by late January.

By the end of the month, the fires had burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed thousands of homes, and claimed at least 27 lives. First responders and volunteers worked tirelessly amid hazardous air conditions and limited resources.

While the physical damage will take years to undo, rebuilding efforts signal the first steps toward recovery and a shared commitment to help Los Angeles heal.