A man banded together with his friends to successfully fight off flames near his Pacific Palisades home. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.
A man and his friends successfully fought off the Palisades Fire from destroying his home Wednesday night as the relentless blaze continued pushing through the coastal community.
Nick Libonati and his group of friends used buckets of water to quickly extinguish any hot spots that popped up near his home and his neighbor’s property. With gusty winds whipping by and the threat of the blaze inching closer to his home, Libonati and his group faced dangerous conditions during their effort.
The group, which comprised of at least four people, were seen filling a bucket with water from Libonati’s pool then passing it among themselves to pour it on a hot spot.
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The Pacific Palisades resident said he evacuated from his home Tuesday then returned to his home with his friends on Wednesday. Thankfully, his home was spared by the fire.
“What a blessing we got up here in time,” Libonati said. “You can’t understand the emotions, especially that my best friends came with me. Heroes, in my opinion, to me.”
Images: California wildfires rage across Los Angeles County
Libonati recalls seeing a plume of smoke Tuesday morning coming from the hillside behind his home. He said he called 911 to report what was initially a small cloud of smoke that then exploded to what is now known as the devastating Palisades Fire.
“This is unbelievable, this is the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said.
The fire, which forced thousands of residents out of their homes, wiped out entire neighborhoods and reduced buildings to unrecognizable bits of rubble, swelled to more than 17,000 acres as of Wednesday night.
