‘Everything destroyed’: Aussie mum loses home in LA fires

A Sydney woman has told how she and her family fled the Palisades blaze with just a suitcase, as shocking before and after footage reveals the inferno’s devastation. See the video.

Australian Vanessa Quinn and her American husband Devon, alongside two small children Remi, four, and Gigi, two, have lost their home to fire in the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles.

“We could see the smoke and flames from our backyard,” Vanessa told Seven’s Sunrise as she recalled how the family fled the Palisades blaze. “We immediately started packing and went to get our kids from the daycare centre and the school.”

Devon told Seven that they are now staying in Indio, adding that he was fortunate that he was working from home as when they saw the flames so that they could act fast.

He said the oncoming smoke was like a “dragon” as he recalled racing to get his child from the daycare.

Everything they owned was crammed into a suitcase and it took them two hours to get out due to a traffic gridlock.

Sydney woman Vanessa Quinn and her husband, Devon, in the charred ruins of their Pacific Palisades home. Picture: GoFundMe

“Thankfully Remy got away with a bag of stuff, Gigi has her favourite kookaburra,” Vanessa said. “We’ve been sheltering in the desert with Devon's ’s mum and the kids have been distracted. We are trying to get insurance together and find a place to stay. We are so happy we are all safe, it’s onwards and upwards.”

Vanessa works as a real estate agent in LA, with her bio saying she is from Sydney.

She moved the US to attend Temple University in Pennsylvania, for International Business, Risk Management, and Economics.

A car drives past homes and vehicles destroyed by the Palisades Fire at the Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates. Picture: AP

According to Vanessa and Devon’s GoFundMe page, which was set up by Vanessa’s sister Rebecca Hidalgo, the couple and their children returned to their home in Pacific Palisades to find “nothing but a pile of rubble after the horrific fires that have ravaged large parts of LA this week.”

“They evacuated with nothing but a bag of clothes and a few essentials. Everything is gone, and while they navigate the lengthy and overwhelming process of insurance claims, temporary housing, resettling the kids into school, and rebuilding their life, I’m sure any financial help would be appreciated,” Ms Hildalgo wrote on the GoFundMe page.

“Please donate if you can to help them resettle as soon as possible. Thank you so much for the support.”

The fires have killed 16 people and destroyed thousands of homes, including celebrity mansions.

The GoFundMe is https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-devon-vanessa-rebuild-after-the-palisades-fire-in-la