Officials use bulldozer to shove abandoned vehicles out of the way near Los Angeles fire
Jan 07, 2025
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — Actor Steve Guttenberg tried to warn them, but drivers who abandoned their vehicles fleeing the growing fire in Los Angeles might find their cars a little worse for wear when they return.
The "Police Academy" actor pleaded with his fellow Angelenos to leave keys in their cars if they were to abandon them in the traffic jams near the fire in the city's Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Otherwise, firefighters may be hamstrung by gridlocked roads.
"What’s happening is people take their keys with them as if they’re in a parking lot. This is not a parking lot. We really need people to move their cars,” he told Nexstar's KTLA Tuesday afternoon. “If you leave your car behind, leave the key in there so a guy like me can move your car so that these fire trucks can get up there.”
Palisades Fire scorches 700 acres, destroys homes
Multiple drivers did not take that advice, however, and officials used a large bulldozer to push stopped cars to the side of the road on Palisades Drive and create a path for emergency vehicles.
"If this is your car, unfortunately, it's an emergency situation, and this is what they have to do," KTLA's Gene Kang explained from the scene.
Kang also confirmed that "Yes, it is causing damage — as you can hear from the screeching noises."
"But that is what they have to do," he added.