Aaron Samson describes his family’s terrifying escape from the Palisades Fire: With no vehicle and flames surrounding them, an unknown neighbor stepped in to help. Samson’s words of encouragement to his father-in-law captured the spirit of survival amidst the chaos.
BY PC Bureau
Aaron Samson and his 83-year-old father-in-law, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, made a harrowing escape from the Palisades Fire, according to CBS News. The Los Angeles-area wildfires have claimed at least five lives and forced over 100,000 residents to flee their homes.
“This feels bigger than anything I’ve ever experienced,” Samson told CBS Mornings. “I can’t put into words how massive it is and how deeply it’s affected my family and me personally.”
Aaron Samson captured his and his father-in-law's harrowing escape from the Pacific Palisades on Tuesday. Samson credited two good Samaritans for helping them during the evacuation.
Credit: Aaron Samson/@storywinning, Associated Press pic.twitter.com/yu1FsFZ7Vr
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Samson first received an alert about the wildfire in his area, but it didn’t mandate evacuation. For the next hour, he deliberated whether to leave. It wasn’t until he stepped outside, saw smoke and flames dangerously close to his father-in-law’s house, and received a second alert that he knew they had to act.<
However, there was no vehicle available at their home, leaving Samson scrambling for options. Calls to 911 and ridesharing services like Uber failed to secure help. It was an unfamiliar neighbor named Jeff who ultimately came to their rescue, offering them a ride as the fire drew nearer.
This man escaped from the fires in California and explained what happened. pic.twitter.com/lVIXyuejBW
— Jammles (@jammles9) January 8, 2025
“As we were driving, there were fires on both sides of the car,” Samson recounted. “You could feel the heat. The flames kept getting closer and closer until traffic came to a complete stop, and the fire jumped about 15 feet from the car on the right.”
In the chaos, police urged everyone to abandon their vehicles. Samson quickly got his father-in-law out of the car and began leading him to safety on foot. A video recorded by Samson captures him encouraging his father-in-law: “Come on, Dad, turn around. We got this, keep walking down the hill.”
“I was just trying to motivate him,” Samson said. “My father-in-law has Parkinson’s and can barely move. This was a heroic effort on his part.”
Using the walker his father-in-law relied on, Samson wheeled him to safety through the smoke and flames.
