ABC News reporter Matt Gutman shared some gut-wrenching personal news Thursday when he reported from in front of rubble that used to be his aunt’s home after the deadly Palisades Fire tore through it.
While giving viewers of “The View” a look inside the decimated neighborhoods of the Pacific Palisades in western Los Angeles, Gutman, the network’s chief national correspondent, stopped in front of the home for the unfortunate update.
“I can feel the heat emanating from this house, which happens to be my aunt’s house,” Gutman told the panel a block away from the famed Sunset Boulevard.
ABC News’ Matt Gutman reports outside the ruins of his aunt’s home that was destroyed by the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles.ABC News
Gutman’s aunt — who was out of town — lost everything in the fire, her nephew said as he looked over the ruins of the home.
“Like so many people in this part of LA, I know multiple people who lost their homes in this fire,” he added.
Gutman said his aunt was struggling emotionally but had the “same response” as many of the victims in that she was OK because she was not physically harmed.
“We’re happy that no one was killed, that no one was trapped in these homes,” he said as the camera panned across the several blocks of the neighborhood that were wiped out by the blaze.
Gutman’s aunt – who was out of town when the fire tore through her neighborhood – lost everything in the fire, her nephew said as he looked over the ruins of the home.ABC News
Gutman also showed off the piles of rubble of a three-story condominium that was destroyed in the fire.ABC News
Blocks of destroyed homes in the Pacific Palisades after the Palisades Fire swept through the area.Getty Images
The reporter said there was a “real fear” across the densely populated Los Angeles County of a large fire spreading during the dry season because of the “most ferocious wind event in 15 years.”
“It was just the perfect storm of confluence of events that created this,” Gutman said.
Along with the destruction of his aunt’s home, Gutman showed the remains of a three-story condominium that was reduced to rubble along with kitchen appliances and bathtubs.
Gutman revealed his own home was threatened by a fire that was “300 yards away” when he first returned to LA to cover the inferno, but it was put out before causing any damage.
“My kids were afraid and I, like many hundreds of thousands of other people, told my family, ‘We have to get a go bag ready right now,’” he said. “‘We have to have it prepared by the door because you really don’t know at this point.’”
The Palisades Fire — one of five threatening Southern California — exploded Tuesday morning and has burned nearly 20,000 acres (31 square miles) with only 6 percent containment, CalFire announced Thursday night.
Flames shoot out of a home on Sunset Boulevard as the Palisades Fire tears through the neighborhood on Jan. 9, 2025.Getty Images
The skeleton of a structure remains standing as flames tear through it on Jan. 8, 2025.Getty Images
The two largest raging infernos have destroyed over 10,000 structures — including many celebrities’ houses.
