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When devastation strikes, it often uproots more than just physical homes and structures — it tears apart the very fabric of a community.
For Sara Trepanier, a Navy veteran, single mother of four and emergency room doctor, the California wildfires reduced her home this week and beloved community to ashes.
On Tuesday, Trepanier and her family evacuated their home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, on Swarthmore Avenue.
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The mom and her 14-year-old daughter, Remy Trepanier, were in tears as they spoke with Fox News Digital about the loss of their home and how they managed to exit amid the chaos and destruction. (See the video at the top of this article.)
“I decided to walk my dog one block over as I went around the corner to the main street on the bluff,” said Sara Trepanier. “You could see a little plume of smoke not on our hill, but on the hill to the left.”
Veteran, ER doctor and mother of four Sara Trepanier, second from right, lost her home and entire community this week in the California fires. (Sara Trepanier)
“As we watched it, it just rapidly went over the hill. Within 10 minutes, you could see these huge flames,” she said.
“This is miles away. It’s not on our direct hill. So as an ER doctor, I’m usually very calm, but I was like, ‘It’s moving so fast. It is.’ You could tell it was climbing over the hill,” she said.
“The winds were so strong — that’s what pushed this to [occur at] a ridiculous pace,” she said.
“So we ended up trying to evacuate. Finally, when our neighbors were evacuating, we rushed out of the house,” said the mom.
Originally from North Carolina, Trepanier said she was used to dealing with hurricanes and consulted her neighbors upon leaving with a mutual acknowledgment that areas were evacuating in stages.
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“The one thing that we’ve heard is there have not been fatalities in the Palisades, which shows the community that they know how to do this,” she said. “They know that respectfully, let the people who are in the direct line go.”
Trepanier said the fires moved so quickly given the strong winds that no one expected the town would be leveled. She snapped this picture. (Sara Trepanier)
She added, “Our neighbor was the one who has lived there his whole life. He was directing us to hang and see until it was time — and you could see it was coming toward the town,” she added.
Daughter Remy said each family member took only one suitcase with some clothes, along with their dog and some dog food.
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“We just went up the street, and it was like a dead zone. There was nobody around, and it was ashy, so we ended up finding our way out through Santa Monica and to Venice, to a hotel,” said the mom.
“We just see videos of my high school burning down.”
When they heard the fire had jumped over to their community, the daughter said her heart dropped.
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“We just see videos of my high school burning down and then [the homes of] all those friends of ours across the street from the high school catching on fire,” said the teenager.
“I get all these texts [from] all my friends. One after the other they are losing their houses.”
Sara Trepanier lost her house in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, on Swarthmore Avenue. She took this photo above. (Sara Trepanier)
Only two homes on the family’s block survived the fire.
Sara Trepanier is currently searching for a rental property for her family.
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Through tear-filled eyes, the daughter shared her admiration for her mom, reflecting on her resilience and describing how her mother remained calm and decisive.
California evacuee Trepanier, a mother of four, said the hardest part is losing her whole community. She’s right now searching for a rental property for her family. (Sara Trepanier)
“She doesn’t give herself enough credit,” shared the daughter, noting that her mom served in the active-duty Navy for four years and then on reserve for six years.
The mother said the hardest part to come to terms with was that the schools, local businesses and the whole town are now gone.
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“I think what hits me the most [about] the house is really this precious community that was so amazing … I don’t think anyone ever conceived that [the fire] would wipe out the whole town.”
A fundraiser has been set up by a friend of the family’s on GoFundMe entitled “Sara’s home was completely lost in the CA fires.”
