EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated early Monday morning to include comments from Tami Benedict.
LOS ANGELES — Lexington High School graduate Drayton Benedict was among thousands of Los Angeles residents who fled from wildfires in the past several days.
Fortunately for the Class of 2010 graduate, Benedict had a high school classmate living nearby.
Benedict had a close encounter with the Sunset fire — which was fully contained Thursday by Los Angeles firefighters in a city where at least 16 people have died and more than 10,000 structures damaged.
A preliminary estimate, calculated by AccuWeather, of the damage and total economic loss could range from $52 billion to $57 billion, staff writer Don Lee reported in a Los Angeles Times story published Thursday.
The destruction “is almost certain to rank as one of the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history,” Lee wrote.
Benedict was one of many residents forced to flee from their homes.
He said the fires developed Tuesday, specifically in the Pacific Palisades — a coastal area in Western Los Angeles — and didn’t begin transferring near his residence in Central LA until Wednesday.
Unsure that wind would blow embers from the Pacific Palisades fire into Central LA, Benedict originally felt safe at his residence near the base of Runyon Canyon, a large hill and popular hiking spot.
“I kept saying, ‘Oh, I’m fine unless, God forbid, Runyon Canyon catches on fire,'” he said. “And then it did around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
“I got an alert that that was on fire and then ran outside to see if it was true and it was.”
Smoke, ash and air quality
Witnessing flames from the end of his driveway, Benedict packed a bag and evacuated.
He drives a Vespa scooter, which turned out to be helpful while trying to exit the gridlocked evacuation area.
“I got to navigate around traffic quite easily and I went somewhere safer and more south, away from mountains and hills,” Benedict said.
The Lexington alum, who moved to California in 2010 to attend the University of Southern California and has stayed since, evacuated to the residence of fellow 2010 Lexington graduate Minji Lew.
From Lew’s house, Benedict could still see the glow and flames of the wildfire, “which was awful, but at least from a distance,” he said.
“Within several hours, maybe about by like 10 or 11 p.m., it looked contained or even extinguished,” he said. “I went back the next morning, after there wasn’t any active fire, and it’s remained that way since then.”
Condition’s in Benedict’s area remain smokey with occasional ash fall and poor air quality.
He said the Runyon Canyon hillside looks visibly charred.
“Air quality in all of LA is really poor right now and it’s highly recommended to only wear a mask when you go outside,” Benedict said.
Los Angeles skyline was ‘unnerving’
Benedict’s mother, Tami Benedict, lives about 40 miles northwest of Santa Monica and Malibu. She’s remained safe as wildfires continue to burn across Southern California.
Tami moved in August of 2022 from Lexington to Ventura County.
In November 2024, the Mountain fire in Camarillo — about seven miles from Tami’s home — burned nearly 20,000 acres.
“Having that just have happened in November kind of put me on a little more high alert, too,” she said. “It needs to be taken serious because you never know with the winds how things can travel.”
Now two months later, extreme winds have again fueled the current firestorms.
“The wind was absolutely crazy and it got worse Tuesday night and that’s when I think all the crazy sparks happened in the Palisades,” she said.
As she traveled south during her commute to work Wednesday morning, Tami said the view of the skyline was unnerving.
Another one of her children, Audrey Benedict, lives in Playa Vista, a neighborhood in western LA, and could see billowing smoke from the Palisades fire.
“We’re all safe and sound, thank goodness,” said Tami, who had to evacuate her workplace early Thursday afternoon.
What normally is about a 20-minute commute home took her an hour and a half. But the extended drive gave Tami a chance to find calmness amidst the craziness.
The alternate route also allowed her to witness one of the firefighting planes replenishing its tank with water.
According to the California fire map on the Los Angeles Times website, three wildfires remain active in the LA area as of early Monday morning — including the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires, which have all been burning for five days.
Those interested can visit the Los Angeles Times for continued coverage and live updates.