PACIFIC PALISADES, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Eyewitness News first met Megan Garman and her then 3-year-old daughter, Gemma, during the chaotic evacuation from Pacific Palisades on January 7, 2025.
“I’m going to make this real quick because Megan Garman is trying to evacuate. You live just right up the hill, tell us what happened?,” said ABC7 reporter Josh Haskell.
“Well, the smoke got really bad so I just started packing up all our stuff and we got in the car to go, and then all the cars were abandoned and I had no where to go, so I just had to get out of my car and start walking. the smoke is so bad. I have no idea where we’re going,” said Garman.
The chaotic evacuation of Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, 2025 still haunts many. Officials say traffic control and evacuation routes are being assessed.
She self-evacuated like thousands in the Palisades, all leaving at the same time and bringing Sunset Boulevard to a dangerous standstill. One year later, the trauma from that day is still very real.
When asked whether she felt trapped in her car, Garman responded: “Yeah. I was absolutely trapped. Both directions. Going towards the beach wasn’t moving. Going towards the 405 wasn’t moving. But, I figured I was so close to PCH, I’m just going to keep going. I was texting my friends and family, telling them that I was afraid we were going to die.”
Garman says they were surrounded by flames and the smoke was getting inside her vehicle. She looked over and the cars next to her were empty. That’s when Garman, Gemma, and her dog left their vehicle and evacuated on foot towards Pacific Coast Highway.
“It was like being in a zombie apocalypse movie is what I felt like. When I saw you guys. I’m like OK, I think we’re safe now,” said Garman.
She lost her home in the Palisades Fire which also served as the location for the tanning business she still runs with her mom. But, most of their customers have been displaced by the fire so keeping the business alive has been challenging. Now, 4-year-old Gemma still talks about the fire. Most of all, they miss their community.
“I don’t feel like we have a home right now. Everything just feels very temporary. I just miss my community, my security and my whole vision about how my daughter’s life was going to be. The school she was going to, the whole vision for my future has just been destroyed.”
“People just assume the Palisades was just all rich people. It wasn’t. I’m a hard-working single mother. I worked multiple jobs to provide for my daughter,” said Garman.
She’s desperately trying to rebuild the tanning business, but has also considered going back to school for occupational therapy. Garman says not knowing what the future holds is scary. But, her ability to survive the hardest year of her life is what keeps her going.
“I’m really proud. I feel like I’ve shown my daughter how to be brave. How to be strong,” said Garman.
Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.