Heartbreaking item dad grabs for his daughter when escaping LA fires

"I would have never thought of it, this is all so sad. Praying for everyone and their families."

They say to look for the heroes in an overwhelming catastrophe; such as the fires that burning in Los Angeles this week.

But one woman didn't have to look too far beyond her very own father.

She tearfully posted on TikTok about the incredible move her dad made as he was escaping his home.

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"He didn't know what to grab"

In the clip, which has amassed 10 million views, Olivia filmed herself in tears.

Text over it reads, "My dad called me and said he didn't know what to grab in the fires.

"So he grabbed all my favourite stuffed animals from when I was little so I can give them to my kids one day."

The footage then switches to a screenshot of her dad on FaceTime with her, holding one of her childhood teddy bears.

The post was captioned: "I would have never thought to grab them, this is all so sad. Praying for everyone and their families."

@oliviazelon

I would have never thought to grab them 😢😢😢 this is all so sad. Praying for everyone and their families #palisadesfire #fire #dadsoftiktok #girldad #praying #heartbroken💔

♬ original sound - 𝑳𝒆𝒙𝒊<3

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"Oh my heart. I am so sorry"

Olivia's account shows that her parents are her world; but she was floored by her dad's most recent heroic move.

The clip has 6000 comments, which show an outpouring of grief and empathy for the disaster in LA.

"Oh my heart. I am so sorry," wrote one viewer.

"So glad he's safe, and so is teddy," said another.

And this comment summed it up perfectly: "This is the definition of the best type of parent. I am sure he’s scared but he’s strong for you." 

One person awkwardly shared for comparison that her own dad had just called her (at 37) asking for a paternity test to prove she's his.

In a world full of dads, be Olivia's dad.

Image: Olivia Zelon TikTok

LA fires 2025

At least five people have lost their lives, hundreds have lost their homes and businesses, and 30 000 ave been evacuated, since the devastating bushfires spread across Pacific Palisades and surrounding suburbs earlier this week.

Large areas of Los Angeles County remain under a red flag warning, as strong winds continue fuelling flames.

Forecasters predict critical fire weather to last through until Friday night (local time).

Originally published as Heartbreaking item dad grabs for his daughter when escaping LA fires