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US swimmer Gary Hall Jr. says he lost everything in Palisades wildfire

US swimmer Gary Hall Jr. says he lost everything in Palisades wildfire
SO A LITTLE BIT MORE STILL THIS MORNING. ALL RIGHT. WE WANT TO GET TO KCRA 3’S MELANIE WINGO. SHE IS IN PALISADES AND HAS MORE ON WHAT SHE’S SEEING THERE NOW. MELANIE, YOU GOT THERE YESTERDAY. KIND OF PAINT THE SCENE IN THE PICTURE FOR US. TELL US WHAT YOU KIND OF SAW YESTERDAY AND WHAT YOU’RE SEEING NOW THIS MORNING WHEN WE FIRST DESCENDED INTO THE AREA, WE CAME OFF THE GRAPEVINE CAME INTO THE GREATER LOS ANGELES, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA, AND WE IMMEDIATELY MADE OUR WAY INTO THE EATON FIRE, WHICH IS BURNING IN THE COMMUNITY OF ALTADENA, THAT IS TO THE WEST. AND A LITTLE BIT OR EXCUSE ME, TO THE EAST AND A LITTLE BIT NORTH OF WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. I’M STANDING JUST ALONG HIGHWAY ONE, ICONIC CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY ONE PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE’RE SEEING THE SUN RISE IN THE DISTANCE. AND IT IS OBSCURED AND OBSTRUCTED BY LOTS OF HEAVY, THICK SMOKE. JUST MOMENTS AGO, WE WERE UP A LITTLE BIT FARTHER IN IN PACIFIC PALISADES AND TAKE A LOOK AT THIS VIDEO. WE CAPTURED PERHAPS OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS, YOU HAVE SEEN VIDEO OF BULLDOZERS PUSHING TO TO THE SIDE VEHICLES THAT HAVE BEEN ABANDONED IN ROADWAYS BY PEOPLE TRYING TO ESCAPE THE FLAMES. AND IT’S JUST SUCH AN EERIE SCENE THIS MORNING AS WE TOOK A LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE VEHICLES THAT ARE STILL ABANDONED IN THE ROADWAY, SOME ARE BURNED OUT, SOME ARE SMASHED UP FROM HAVING BEEN MOVED, SOME PERHAPS MAYBE THERE WERE COLLISIONS OF SOME DESCRIPTION AS PEOPLE TRIED TO FLEE, BUT THEN REALIZED THEY NEEDED TO GET OUT AND ABANDON THEIR VEHICLES. AND THAT’S JUST WHAT THEY DID. AND THEY’RE LEFT BEHIND, RIGHT UP FROM WHERE WE ARE THIS MORNING ON SUNSET BOULEVARD. AGAIN, WE’RE IN THE PACIFIC PALISADES AREA, AND IT’S JUST SO MUCH DEVASTATION AND AND SO MANY STRUCTURES HAVE BURNED AND ARE STILL BURNING. AND IF YOU TAKE OUR LIVE PICTURE RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN SEE WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT JUST UP AGAIN FROM WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, I’M SEEING BLACK SMOKE FROM WHERE I’M SET UP IN OUR LIVE REPORT HERE. IT’S BILLOWING INTO THE AIR AND WE DROVE UP IN THAT DIRECTION ON SUNSET BOULEVARD, AND WE CAN SEE THERE IS A SCHOOL THAT CLEARLY WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND YESTERDAY, BUT THERE ARE STILL HOTSPOTS AND STILL PRESUMABLY SPOTS. THAT FIRE IS CATCHING ON TO AND BURNING. THAT BLACK SMOKE BILLOWING UP. RIGHT NOW. WE KNOW THAT FIRE CREWS ARE ON THE GROUND TRYING TO CONTAIN SOME OF THESE HOTSPOTS BECAUSE IF THERE IS ANY WIND AND IF IT DOES PICK UP EMBERS, THE STORY OF THIS FIRE HAS BEEN THOSE INTENSE WINDS THAT HAVE PICKED UP EMBERS AND THAT EMBER CAST IS CAUSING FIRES ALL THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, THE THE L.A. COUNTY AREA. AND THAT’S JUST SUCH A A TROUBLE FOR THOSE FIRE CREWS AS THEY WORK TO PREVENT MORE DESTRUCTION, DEVASTATION AND ALSO LOSS OF LIFE. BRANDY AND MIKE AND MELANIE, YESTERDAY WE WERE SEEING A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WERE STILL THERE TRYING TO PROTECT THEIR HOMES, AND THEY WERE PUTTING WATER ON THEIR ROOFS TO TRY TO KEEP THE FIRE FROM SPREADING. HAVE YOU ACTUALLY ENCOUNTERED OR RUN INTO ANY HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESS OWNERS? ANYONE STILL THERE? JUST TRYING TO SALVAGE WHAT THEY CAN OR PICK UP ANYTHING FROM? FROM WHAT THEY LOST? YOU KNOW, THAT’S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE I TOO SAW THAT BRANDY AS WE WERE DRIVING DOWN. WE WERE WATCHING THE COVERAGE ALL 6.5 HOURS OF OUR ROAD TRIP FROM THE SACRAMENTO AREA HERE TO LOS ANGELES COUNTY. AND I AM NOT SEEING THAT HERE IN THE PACIFIC PALISADES AREA. WE SAW A LITTLE BIT MORE OF CIVILIANS, I GUESS I SHOULD SAY, ON THE EATON FIRE OVER IN THE ALTADENA AREA, PERHAPS ON THE STREETS, BUT NOBODY REALLY HOSING DOWN THE ROOFTOPS OF THEIR HOMES ON THAT FIRE. AND THEN HERE ON THE PALISADES FIRE, IT’S LIKE A GHOST TOWN. WE’RE NOT SEEING REALLY ANY CIVILIANS WHATSOEVER. ALL WE ARE SEEING ARE FIRE CREWS. THERE ARE MEDIA MEMBERS HERE AS WELL, BUT WE’RE JUST DEFINITELY NOT SEEING THAT, YOU KNOW, ATTEMPT BY PEOPLE TO USE GARDEN HOSES TO KEEP THEIR ROOFTOPS SPRAYED DOWN. AND EVEN THE FIRE CREWS ARE HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME CONTAINING THE FLAMES. SO, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS ANYBODY WHO WAS LINGERING BEHIND TRYING TO PROTECT THEIR, THEIR HOME, THEY HAVE PERHAPS GONE ON REALIZING THAT THAT’S PRETTY MUCH A FRUITLESS ATTEMPT. AND AGAIN, IT SPEAKS VOLUMES BECAUSE TYPICALLY THAT HIGHWAY OR THAT ROADWAY RIGHT BEHIND MELANIE, TYPICALLY PACKED WITH FOLKS. AND RIGHT NOW IT IS PRETTY MUCH ABANDONED. SO MELANIE WINGO. YEAH, WE YEAH, WE WERE SAYING THAT LAST NIGHT TO JUST YOU THINK OF PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY. YOU THINK PEOPLE GOING TO THE BEACH AND SURFBOARDS HANGING OUT OF CONVERTIBLES. BUT NO SUCH LUCK. I THINK WE JUST SAW ONE CYCLIST BEHIND YOU. AND AS YOU YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SAID ON THE OTHER SIDE, ALL WE SAW A A NEWS VEHICLE, A FIRE VEHICLE THERE JUST PASSING. BUT OTHERWISE NO ONE ELSE OUT THERE. WELL, MELANIE, THANKS SO MUCH FOR THAT LIVE REPORT. OF COURSE, WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE CHECKING
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US swimmer Gary Hall Jr. says he lost everything in Palisades wildfire
Former U.S. Olympian Gary Hall Jr. won 10 Olympic medals and six world championship medals in his swimming career. He believes he’s lost them all in the Palisades wildfire, he said to the Sydney Morning Herald.“It was worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1,000 times worse,” he said to the Australian news outlet.“I was on the phone with my daughter. I noticed a plume of smoke coming over the back side of my house. I saw the flames erupt and houses start popping. There were explosions. I didn’t have a lot of time.“Sunset Boulevard was a complete logjam. People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke.“It’s mayhem in Los Angeles. We were surrounded by flames. The embers were raining down on me as I jumped into my car. I had time to grab my dog and just a couple of personal items. It’s just every person for themselves.“It’s tough. It’s a big loss … and everything I own.”Timelapse video below shows Palisades wildfire rapidly spreading in southern CaliforniaHall, known for his speed and showmanship, represented the U.S. in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics. He won 10 Olympic medals, including five gold medals. He also won three gold and three silver world championship medals.Hall was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1999. He is the son of Gary Hall Sr., who won medals at three Olympic Games.A GoFundMe page has been set up for the younger Hall, which says, “Gary Jr. lost his home and his livelihood in the devastating Palisades Fire on January 7th.“Gary saw flames out his window while he was at home before collecting his dog, Puddles, his insulin, a painting of his grandfather, and a religious wooden piece his daughter Gigi gave him and drove towards the ocean as quickly as possible.“He was forced to leave behind everything else he owned, such as irreplaceable family heirlooms, photos, and more. He has also most likely lost his ten Olympic medals, but nothing can take away his spirit that won those medals.”Hall, 50, told the Sydney Morning Herald he thought about the medals, but he did not have time to get them.“Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt. It’s something I can live without. I guess everything is just stuff. It’ll take some hard work to start over. What can you do?“It’ll be a range of emotions, particularly when it’s time to go back to where the house stood. I’ll shift through the ash and see if the medals melted together. Will I be able to find anything worth saving? Probably not. I don’t know.“There’s no time to take photos or videos when running for your life.”

Former U.S. Olympian Gary Hall Jr. won 10 Olympic medals and six world championship medals in his swimming career. He believes he’s lost them all in the Palisades wildfire, he said to the .

“It was worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1,000 times worse,” he said to the Australian news outlet.

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“I was on the phone with my daughter. I noticed a plume of smoke coming over the back side of my house. I saw the flames erupt and houses start popping. There were explosions. I didn’t have a lot of time.

“Sunset Boulevard was a complete logjam. People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke.

“It’s mayhem in Los Angeles. We were surrounded by flames. The embers were raining down on me as I jumped into my car. I had time to grab my dog and just a couple of personal items. It’s just every person for themselves.

“It’s tough. It’s a big loss … and everything I own.”

Timelapse video below shows Palisades wildfire rapidly spreading in southern California

Hall, known for his speed and showmanship, represented the U.S. in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics. He won 10 Olympic medals, including five gold medals. He also won three gold and three silver world championship medals.

Hall was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1999. He is the son of Gary Hall Sr., who won medals at three Olympic Games.

A page has been set up for the younger Hall, which says, “Gary Jr. lost his home and his livelihood in the devastating Palisades Fire on January 7th.

“Gary saw flames out his window while he was at home before collecting his dog, Puddles, his insulin, a painting of his grandfather, and a religious wooden piece his daughter Gigi gave him and drove towards the ocean as quickly as possible.

“He was forced to leave behind everything else he owned, such as irreplaceable family heirlooms, photos, and more. He has also most likely lost his ten Olympic medals, but nothing can take away his spirit that won those medals.”

Hall, 50, told the Sydney Morning Herald he thought about the medals, but he did not have time to get them.

“Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt. It’s something I can live without. I guess everything is just stuff. It’ll take some hard work to start over. What can you do?

“It’ll be a range of emotions, particularly when it’s time to go back to where the house stood. I’ll shift through the ash and see if the medals melted together. Will I be able to find anything worth saving? Probably not. I don’t know.

“There’s no time to take photos or videos when running for your life.”