A car might be your only lifeline during a wildfire; here's how to drive safe

Having a car in Southern California can be very important and is one of the main ways residents get around. In a wildfire, that car might be your only lifeline.

It's one of the most striking images from the Palisades Fire one year ago, droves of cars abandoned on the streets as thousands of people ran for safety.

"I looked up at the sky and I just saw blackness," said Michael Geller, a Pacific Palisades resident.

Geller and his son, Mason, were among the families caught in the chaos, bottlenecked on Palisades Drive as the fire crept closer.

"At this point, panic is starting to set in," Geller said. "I can't get out the higher evacuation route, and I can't get down the lower evacuation route."

Geller said the flames were closing in when his son, who was 16-years-old and didn't have a license yet, had to jump into the driver's seat. It gave him time to jump out and save his wife's abandoned Cybertruck.

"She left early. She was stopped by the gridlock," Geller said. "I said, 'Jump in the car, it's a crash course in driving. You're going to take this car out. I'm going to go jump in mom's car and I'm going to get her car out.'"

Mason said he wasn't thinking about being scared; he was more worried about getting out as quickly as possible.

It was a decision that Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brent Pascua said he supports.

"The best thing to do is evaluate where you're at," Pascua said. "Evaluate what the situation is."

That constant evaluation includes knowing your escape routes and possible refuge areas like open spaces or water.

"Put your headlights on, keep your AC on with the recirculating button on, so that you're keeping the smoke out and get out there as soon as possible," Pascua said.

Pascua also recommends you don't use your high-beam lights, because they will reflect more light off the smoke, making it harder to see. He said wearing a mask and having a good extinguisher in the car can be a big help, but if things keep escalating, you shouldn't push too hard.

"If the fire is already bearing down on you and it's producing a lot of smoke where there's zero visibility, your best bet might be to stay put inside that structure and ride the fire out there," Pascua said.

Cal Fire said many of the most important decisions are made before and during an evacuation. Knowing when to leave, which routes to take, and when it may be safer to stop and survive the fire rather than drive through it.

For the Gellers, getting out came down to seconds. They lost their home and business and are still working to rebuild. But through the loss, remains the strength of knowing they're safe and that others are here to have their back.

"I think we're all trying to do good for our neighbors, the best we can," Geller said. "I think collectively as a community, this will make us stronger. It will make us more prepared."