‘War zone’: Former Sydney family’s home destroyed in LA fires

A former Sydney family’s new home has been destroyed in the horrific Los Angeles fires, with their loved ones calling on the community for support.

A former Sydney family have been left with nothing more than the clothes on their backs after fire ripped through their newly built Los Angeles home last week.

Kim and Gordon Devin watched their Pacific Palisades home catch alight via a doorbell camera on January 7, as the deadly wildfires decimated their community.

The couple moved to Los Angeles from Sydney with their daughters Anouk and Luella seven years ago, and spent the past three years building their dream home in Pacific Palisades Village.

The Devins’ Pacific Palisades home (at the end of the street) was destroyed.

Kim and Gordon Devin’s home in Pacific Palisades, as the fire approached.

They had just spent their first Christmas in their new home, after moving in on August 10, before taking a family holiday with Kim’s twin sister Zoe Kelly and her family.

But just days into their trip, they watched from afar as thick smoke surrounded the back of their property, and their deck caught alight.

“We saw on the ring camera the fire in the Temescal Canyon, and a dear friend raced around and wet the deck, but they heard a loud bang and rushed out as it wasn’t safe,” Zoe told the Telegraph.

“(My sister and her husband) the poor things watched as their deck lit up.

“By some grace of god the power cut. They didn’t have to see that it would have been sickening.”

The Devins flew straight home the next morning, but are still unable to see the decimation of their home for themselves, with the scene still too dangerous and distressing to face.

Photos and videos show their street in a smouldering rubble, with every home, and cars destroyed by the blaze.

Kim and Gordon Devin and their daughters Luella and Anouk.

Luella and Anouk’s schools also burnt down, Pacific Palisades High and Christian Calvary School, leaving them “devastated”.

Zoe, who is with her sister in LA, said it was like a “war zone” on the ground and “so much worse than people think”.

“They are trying to hold it together as a family but it is like a death,” she said.

“Very up and down, it’s like a war zone here.

“They had one suitcase each. All their Christmas presents, all their precious photos, everything they have worked for gone in literally 20 minutes.

“It is so much worse than people think.”

The Devins community in Pacific Palisades has been destroyed.

The Devins are currently staying in a hotel that offered refuge to victims of the fire, and are set to move to friends’ property in Palm Springs in the coming days to escape the dangerous air quality.

“The community has been amazing, they have donated clothes and shoes,” Zoe said.

“(My sister, her husband and their girls) are only eating minimally because they are just not hungry.”

Doorbell camera footage at the back of Kim and Gordon Devin’s home showed the fire ripping toward their property. Picture: supplied

Zoe has launched a fundraiser to help her sister’s family get back on their feet, asking people for any donations – big or small.

“Right now people need clothes vouchers, food vouchers or deliveries, linen vouchers, toiletries, all the day to day stuff,” she said.

“Donations are the best thing, it may seem trivial, but it takes the pressure off the day to day expenses on top of the stress.”

To help the Devin family, donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-devin-clan-need-your-help

Originally published as ‘War zone’: Former Sydney family’s home destroyed in LA fires