LOS ANGELES – Former News10NBC reporter Emily Smith, who now resides in Pacific Palisades, a coastal neighborhood of Los Angeles, has been deeply affected by the wildfires ravaging her community.

Smith, who worked at News10NBC in the early 2000s, evacuated the area after hearing about the fire’s rapid spread.

In a Zoom interview, Smith described the devastation:

“The grocery store burned down, small biz burned down. The high school was on fire. Apartment buildings. Many of my friend’s homes have burned to the ground.”

Smith and her dog, Gracie, are safe, but the situation in her hometown is dire.

“0% containment. I guess 90% of the Palisades is gone,” she said.

A friend alerted Smith on Tuesday morning, urging her to flee.

“Fires on both sides of the canyon and people are ditching their cars, so they’re just jumping and running,” Smith explained. “And then that causes problems. Fire trucks can’t get up because the cars are blocking the road. So my husband came into the scene and started moving cars.”

Smith’s husband, actor Steve Guttenberg, stayed behind to assist the fire department. By the time Smith reached Santa Monica, the sky was pitch black, prompting her to stay with friends in Hermosa Beach.

The status of her home remains uncertain.

“We have no idea. Oh my goodness. We know there were fires in the neighborhood today for sure. We knew they were one street over. Like for sure there was activity, but we don’t know whose houses burned and whose houses didn’t,” Smith said.

Reflecting on her experience as a news reporter, Smith compared the current situation to Superstorm Sandy.

“The worst thing I ever saw was Superstorm Sandy. And that was when New York, the tri-state area, was devastated… So this is comparable to that. It’s just awful.”

Smith noted that hurricane-force winds have complicated efforts to combat the wildfires.

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Related Article: Wildfires latest: Tens of thousands ordered to evacuate as fires tear through Los Angeles area

You can track the fire with the National Interagency Fire Center’s website here.