MALIBU, Calif. () — Malibu resident Joseph Church returned to find his home — and his classic 1965 Porsche — destroyed by the Palisades Fire.
“There’s nothing left — not a damn thing,” he said softly as he approached his property in the aftermath of the inferno.
Nothing remained of his dream home except charred rubble.
Days earlier, as the Palisades Fire approached, other homes exploded in the distance and popping sounds were heard all around.
Church was left with nothing more than a few items, having left behind treasures including his rare Porsche — one of only 156 ever made.
One week after the Palisades Fire erupted, the cleanup along Pacific Coast Highway has begun.
“I saw the fire coming up from PCH,” Church recalled. “I felt I was getting pinched in. There was no time get out. Nothing’s worth dying for.”
Church did all he could to save his home. He had installed a fire hose to water down his property, hoping his efforts would be enough. But soon the flames were just too much.
“It was a lottery to see which house survives and what doesn’t,” he told 7. “It’s unbelievable.”
Continuing his walk through the rubble, Church stumbled across mementos. He reminisced about cherished memories he shared with his wife, now disrupted by the life-changing blaze.
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Having lost his apartment to a wildfire in 1990, Church said nothing compares to the loss of his Malibu house.
“This whole fire in itself has just trumped anything I’ve ever seen before,” he said.
Overlooking the damage, Church saw the property lots where his friends’ homes one stood.
While the coastline will forever be changed, he said it will not stop him from rebuilding and starting over.
“I think there’s no way we can’t,” Church said. “It’s gonna take time, but … there’s nowhere else that’s really better than Sunset Mesa.”
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