As the wildfires continue to grow across Los Angeles County, many Chicago-natives are finding themselves caught in the chaos.
Danielle Ryan moved from Riverside, Ill., to Palisades four months ago, and on Tuesday afternoon, she said she was startled awake to a desperate call from family in Chicago.
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“My sister was calling, calling, and right when I looked out my window, I could see all the smoke and then all of my neighbors were just evacuating,” Ryan said.
Ryan said she had to flee her new home.
“Grab your passport, grab your computer, grab your medication and just get out of there,” she said. “I just put everything in my bag and I just got out of there.”
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The smoke was already moving in, and the famed Sunset Boulevard was already slammed with evacuees who were just as panicked as she was.
The school where Ryan was supposed to begin teaching at next Monday – Pacific Palisades High School – is now gone.