Aussie woman and family caught in the path of the LA wildfires

Aussie Laura Johansen has revealed what it’s like to be trapped in an “insane, out of control” wildfire in Los Angeles as she prepares to flee with her family.

Brisbane woman Laura Johansen, her American husband Brett, and their three children are all packed and ready to evacuate from their home in the San Fernando Valley region of Tarzana in Los Angeles.

They are right behind where the Palisades fire is currently raging out of control.

“Things are just igniting immediately. If the winds start switching north we would be in direct threat,” she said.

Australian woman Laura Johansen and husband Brett. Picture: Supplied/Laura Johansen

Johansen, 43, tied the knot in Brisbane but moved to LA 17 years ago to build a life with her husband. They now share kids aged 16, 13, 2, as well as four cats and eight chickens.

“We are about three miles from the direct flames,” she said. “This morning I could see the fires have spread. The Eaton fire is raging out of control. The air quality is shocking, school is cancelled, our toddler is desperate to go outside.”

A photographer, Johansen grew up in Redlands so is no stranger to bushfires, but this is something else, she said, as the area she called her second home has been destroyed.

“The devastation of this is unfathomable. Historical buildings, favourite restaurants now just ash and memories - let alone the people and their livelihoods. It’s out of control and insane. Like a horror movie.”

Laura Johansen with her husband Brett and son Atlas. Picture: Amelie Garrett

Laura Johansen and family. Picture: Supplied/Laura Johansen

The family owns their house, which is in the hills in an area they describe as “city meets farm.”

They are located right off main Highway 101 but on two thirds of an acre surrounded by hills and bush. What seemed like the best of both worlds could turn into a deadly trap.

“The fires are right across from where we do our hiking,” she said, noting that the appeal of being up from the flatlands has perils, like fires, earthquakes and wild animals such as coyotes.

But so far, she has no regrets about moving her family to the area.

She’s not sure who or what to blame for the multiple out of control blazes which have claimed the lives of five people so far, caused 100,000 evacuations and untold damage to property and land.

Looking towards the Eaton fire in Los Angeles. Picture: Laura Johansen

Looking towards the Palisades fire in Los Angeles. Picture: Laura Johansen

On Wednesday local time, they lost electricity for 20 hours.

“We went to the local mall, and we saw the fire trucks filling up from hydrants.”

Water reserves have been “so low we can’t drink from the tap, people must drink bottled or boiled water only.”

Her family is currently in the “red flag” evacuation zone, the one before mandatory evacuation.

“We’re keeping an eye on things. The fire zones are growing and getting closer to the house.”

And in the meantime, they keep checking their phones.

The photo Mrs Trott posted online of what was left of their home.

Lauren Trott and her husband Lachlan West’s home fell victim to the deadly fires in the Los Angeles area.

Meanwhile, an Australian couple is “lost for words” after their Californian home fell victim to the fires raging around Los Angeles.

Lauren Trott said she is “in shock” after flames engulfed the home she was living in with her husband from Umina, NSW, Lachlan West, and their beloved dog.

There is barely anything left standing of their house as she captioned the disturbing image posted to Instagram, “no words”.

“Lost for words right now but thank you to everyone who has reached out and offered a roof, clothes, and love,” Mrs Trott wrote.

“We are safe and have a roof over our heads so all is good as it can be. Just in shock right now.

“We shipped all our worldly possessions over from Australia and now it’s all gone.”

A Gofundme was set up for Mrs Trott, who works at travel and event management company, TAG, and her partner where US$10,765 (AUD$17,373) has been raised.

Aussie James Willis couldn’t manage to save his beachfront property in Malibu as he fled the ferocious flames with his dog and just a bag of personal belongings.

The man from Brisbane said he was “in complete shock” at losing his home.

“I can’t comprehend to tell you how devastated I am that I lost my home and everything I own in it,” he said.

James Willis lived by the beach in Malibu. Picture: Instagram

What was left of James Willis’ home. Picture: Instagram

Australian woman Nadia Pavia fled Altadena, about 22km northeast of downtown Los Angeles, on Tuesday night after the Eton fire ignited within view of her home. She grabbed a few possessions and fled.

Two days later, she got confirmation that her house is still standing.

“I found out because my housemate had been in Mexico getting his teeth done and he went back to the house,” she told this masthead.

“I really thought the house was going to burn down, I really believed it, I didn’t want to believe it, but houses I passed on the way out were on fire.”

Ms Pavia praised firefighters for their efforts, but said she didn’t think the state of California was organised enough to deal with the large-scale disaster.

“There are people being interviewed on local TV and they’re watching their houses burn down and then you’d see a firetruck go past all these burning houses and not stop,” she explained.

“I think they’re in damage control, trying to get to gas stations so they don’t explode, and I don’t think they want to admit they weren’t ready for this.”

She will stay at a hotel until evacuation orders in Altadena are lifted.

Aussie woman Nadia Pavia, who moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting dream a decade ago, fears her Altadena home has been destroyed.

Ms Pavia, who moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting dream a decade ago and has since worked as a peer support specialist, said the wildfire disaster “really snuck up on us”.

“Yesterday morning, I was cleaning up the branches. I was sitting out there because I thought the wind had died down. But it came back and it just kept getting stronger, and all of a sudden there’s a fire,” she said.

“I feel like a lot of people are in shock here … This is the worst fire situation that they’ve ever seen.”

Speaking from a hotel in Hollywood, where she was bunkered down with her cat, the expat said the “absolutely crazy” winds that reached 160km/h reminded her of Black Saturday.

“That’s what really motivated me to leave,” Ms Pavia said.

“Everyone was saying, ‘It’s not going to come down the hill, you’ll be fine, you don’t have to evacuate’. But I was just like, you don’t know, it’s too unpredictable.”

“I could see the fire from where I live. The canyon is about three or four miles away from us.”

She moved to Altadena in September, saying she loved the “beautiful” community.

Originally published as Aussie woman and family caught in the path of the LA wildfires