According to retired fire captain Rich Snyder, the dangerous combination of weather, topography, and fuel (brush and homes) was evident long before the Eaton and Palisades fires erupted in Southern California a year ago. Perhaps the lack of planning, organization, and competence on the part of local government was also predictable. In any case, several survivors agree on the same thing again and again: when it came to saving their homes and property, they were on their own.
Some succeeded and others didn't, but all of their stories are truly heartbreaking in the three-part documentary miniseries L.A. Firestorm: Inside the Inferno, from writer, director, and producer Tim Prokop, which premieres tomorrow on Reelz.
Stars: Nicholas Walker, Casey D. Noel, Tim Prokop
As a survivor and witness, David Low recalls that the winds were unusually strong, though not surprisingly so, and the air was dry. He was acutely aware of both factors, as a surfer and a professional cellist (humidity affects stringed instruments). Obviously, this also has enormous implications for wildfires. Consequently, when the Eaton and Palisades fires broke out, they spread like wildfire.
Tragically, the fires quickly swept through densely populated neighborhoods, including Snyder's. He called 911 directly, but all the trucks were already busy, so he enlisted several retired colleagues from the department and his nephew to fight the embers threatening his home.
It wasn't just homes that were in danger. Lee Borsay explains the safety protocols he activated to protect the collection at the Getty Villa Museum, as a member of their emergency response team. Similarly, the staff at Zorthian Ranch, a working animal farm and artists' colony, did everything they could to evacuate their livestock. However, they were severely hampered by the fire, traffic, limited trailer capacity, and the nervousness of the animals themselves, so Thomas Messina stayed with the remaining sheep and cows in the ranch's central corral to protect and comfort them as best he could. Many people say they love animals, but Messina truly demonstrated it through her actions.
In fact, the survival stories compiled in L.A. Firestorm are truly chilling. Frankly, it's incredible how much they were able to save, thankfully including artist Nani Nam's four dogs, whom former paramedic Caleb Serban-Lawler brought to safety, along with their owner. It's worth noting, however, that Prokop's interviewees are all civilians. Of course, it makes sense that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass doesn't appear, as she was out of the country during the fires.
Indeed, it's only in the last ten minutes that the film begins to question the official response and the questionable funding decisions made before the Eaton and Palisades fires broke out. It's not as if they didn't have warnings. The Franklin fire had ravaged nearly 50 buildings in Malibu just a month earlier. In a way, Prokop saves the most important revelation for last, when survivor Erin Kyle confirms that firefighters tearfully confessed to her that they ran out of water while battling the January 2025 fires. Several participants, however, blame Los Angeles's antiquated water system, which suffered numerous pipe bursts, as much of the network is exposed.
In any case, someone should analyze what went wrong and how the problems can be fixed, as Prokop cites estimates that the total damage could amount to some $250 billion.
Hopefully, Ring cameras received some kind of recognition, as a surprising amount of footage was extracted from their devices. However, the nature of the compiled video and the sheer scale of the documented destruction far surpass what most viewers saw in brief news reports. Prokop and her team manage to convey the true dimension of the devastation. Highly recommended, L.A. Firestorm premieres tomorrow (February 1) on Reelz.
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