Two of the hikers who were seen running away from the scene of the Palisades fire as it was just beginning have given interviews to two publications.
Beni Oren and five of his friends have emerged as suspects on social media after posting recordings of them laughing while running away from the blaze to X. Oren has prompted even more suspicion by deleting his account, having gone viral on account of the videos.
However, the hiker did speak to NBC, telling the outlet he was on a trail run with his pals near a local landmark called Skull Rock on January 7 when they smelled smoke. He claims they turned and approached the flames out of curiosity but realized they would need to get out of the area fast as the wind was blowing the fire in their direction.
“It was a bizarre experience realizing like, f**k, is all this about to be on fire?” Oren said.
Kai Cranmore, who was part of the group, admitted it wasn’t the best day for hiking, as the weather forecast predicted heavy winds. But he and his friends hit the trail anyway, given that they were all experienced hikers and rock-climbed together often.
Also Read: VIDEO: Shocking New Footage Appears To Show The Person Who Started The Palisades Fire In California
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He told Backpacker.com he was meditating when one of his friends smelled smoke.
“We were expressing what we were feeling,” he recalled. “I would say ‘I feel the gravity pulling me towards the earth’ or ‘I feel my breath.’ And my buddy Mike was like, ‘I smell smoke.’”
They looked behind them and saw a thick plume of smoke heading towards them
“It was full fight or flight,” he continued. “You can’t fight a fire, so it was just pure flight.”
“In that moment, we didn’t really think about what a small fire could have grown into,” Cranmore says. “The only thought in my mind was to survive and get out of there. But my mind is just absolutely blown with how big it’s grown and how many lives it’s affected.”
Palisades Fire Continues To Threaten Los Angeles
The Palisades fire is still a deadly threat and could become even more dangerous as the National Weather Service has warned of winds that could blow up to 70MPH and stoke the flames.
Over 92,000 L.A. residents are under evacuation orders while the death toll was at 24 as of Monday, with dozens missing.
According to California Governor Gavin Newsom, there’s likely to be a lot more deaths.
