When devastation strikes, it typically uproots extra than simply bodily houses and buildings — it tears aside the very cloth of a group.
For Sara Trepanier, a Navy veteran, single mom of 4 and emergency room physician, the California wildfires diminished her house this week and beloved group to ashes.
On Tuesday, Trepanier and her household evacuated their house in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, on Swarthmore Avenue.
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The mother and her 14-year-old daughter, Remy Trepanier, have been in tears as they spoke with Fox Information Digital in regards to the lack of their house and the way they managed to exit amid the chaos and destruction. (See the video on the prime of this text.)
“I made a decision to stroll my canine one block over as I went across the nook to the primary road on the bluff,” mentioned Sara Trepanier. “You can see somewhat plume of smoke not on our hill, however on the hill to the left.”

Veteran, ER physician and mom of 4 Sara Trepanier, second from proper, misplaced her house and whole group this week within the California fires. (Sara Trepanier)
“As we watched it, it simply quickly went over the hill. Inside 10 minutes, you would see these big flames,” she mentioned.
“That is miles away. It is not on our direct hill. In order an ER physician, I’m often very calm, however I used to be like, ‘It is shifting so quick. It’s.’ You can inform it was climbing over the hill,” she mentioned.
“The winds have been so robust — that is what pushed this to [occur at] a ridiculous tempo,” she mentioned.
“So we ended up making an attempt to evacuate. Lastly, when our neighbors have been evacuating, we rushed out of the home,” mentioned the mother.
Initially from North Carolina, Trepanier mentioned she was used to coping with hurricanes and consulted her neighbors upon leaving with a mutual acknowledgment that areas have been evacuating in phases.
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“The one factor that we have heard is there haven’t been fatalities within the Palisades, which exhibits the group that they know the way to do that,” she mentioned. “They know that respectfully, let the people who find themselves within the direct line go.”

Trepanier mentioned the fires moved so rapidly given the robust winds that nobody anticipated the city could be leveled. She snapped this image. (Sara Trepanier)
She added, “Our neighbor was the one who has lived there his entire life. He was directing us to hold and see till it was time — and you would see it was coming towards the city,” she added.
Daughter Remy mentioned every member of the family took just one suitcase with some garments, together with their canine and a few pet food.
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“We simply went up the road, and it was like a lifeless zone. There was no one round, and it was ashy, so we ended up discovering our manner out by Santa Monica and to Venice, to a resort,” mentioned the mother.
“We simply see movies of my highschool burning down.”
After they heard the fireplace had jumped over to their group, the daughter mentioned her coronary heart dropped.
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“We simply see movies of my highschool burning down after which [the homes of] all these associates of ours throughout the road from the highschool catching on fireplace,” mentioned {the teenager}.
“I get all these texts [from] all my associates. One after the opposite they’re dropping their homes.”

Sara Trepanier misplaced her home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, on Swarthmore Avenue. She took this picture above. (Sara Trepanier)
Solely two houses on the household’s block survived the fireplace.
Sara Trepanier is presently looking for a rental property for her household.
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By means of tear-filled eyes, the daughter shared her admiration for her mother, reflecting on her resilience and describing how her mom remained calm and decisive.

California evacuee Trepanier, a mom of 4, mentioned the toughest half is dropping her entire group. She’s proper now looking for a rental property for her household. (Sara Trepanier)
“She doesn’t give herself sufficient credit score,” shared the daughter, noting that her mother served within the active-duty Navy for 4 years after which on reserve for six years.
The mom mentioned the toughest half to come back to phrases with was that the colleges, native companies and the entire city at the moment are gone.
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“I feel what hits me probably the most [about] the home is basically this treasured group that was so wonderful … I do not suppose anybody ever conceived that [the fire] would wipe out the entire city.”
A fundraiser has been arrange by a good friend of the household’s on GoFundMe entitled “Sara’s house was utterly misplaced within the CA fires.”