Rescuing strangers, cooking for firefighters: LA residents find ‘hope among the ashes’

The kindness of strangers allowed two men to escape the deadly Palisade fire, while businesses and non-profits gear up to assist evacuees

Many things went wrong for Aaron Samson on Tuesday morning. But a few lucky breaks - and the kindness of two strangers - allowed him and his 83-year-old father-in-law, Ron, to escape the deadly Palisades fire as it swiftly closed in around them.

After getting an alert about the impending wildfire on his phone, Samson sprang into action at Ron's home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, where the retired cardiologist had lived for nearly 50 years. Samson grabbed clothes and medication for his father-in-law, who has Parkinson's disease and was recovering from a recent surgery, and texted his own wife and kids, who were back home in Berkeley.