<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Bryanna Reynolds was sitting on the couch in her Los Angeles apartment when the TV flashed with a news warning. Her neighbourhood was on fire.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Australian-born presenter had been watching the wildfires burn across the city for days, starting in the Palisades on Tuesday before more blazes broke out in Eaton, Lidia, Hurst and beyond.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It wasn't until flames started ravaging the iconic Hollywood Hills that she realised just how catastrophic the situation had become.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/la-fires-live-updates-latest-news-as-malibu-and-hollywood-burn/0512218f-c03f-4be7-8ebf-7761b30ac4de" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Death toll expected to rise as fires rage through Los Angeles</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When the alert hit our phone about the Hollywood Hills fire, there was pandemonium. ... cars began speeding, honking and immediately it felt unsafe," she told 9news.com.au.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You could see the black and red smoke coming across the city from multiple fires and it was like witnessing something out of an apocalypse film."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wildfires have raged across Los Angeles for days, destroying thousands of homes and claiming the lives of at least 10 people.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/la-fires-australian-expat-bryanna-reynolds-los-angeles-evacuated/47d4e177-853b-4920-a5ef-a6dffe65503d" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Have you got a story? Contact</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>reporter Maddison Leach at</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="mailto:mleach@nine.com.au" target="_blank" title="mleach@nine.com.au"><strong><em><span>mleach@nine.com.au</span></em></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Reynolds said locals were told to expect wild weather conditions this week as the Santa Ana winds blew through, but nothing could have prepared her for the blazes that have ravaged the city she's called home for the last five years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She told 9news that getting information about the fires and evacuation orders has been difficult and she and other locals have been forced to rely on TV news and social media platforms to stay informed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's also been hard to stay in contact with her family back home, who are terrified for her safety.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The information they are hearing is different to what we are being told here in Los Angeles," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Power is in and out and communications are dropping in and out as well."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Wednesday night, Reynolds raced through wild traffic to rescue a friend in Runyon Canyon who was ordered to evacuate but didn't have a vehicle.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/as-wildfires-rage-in-los-angeles-trump-doesnt-offer-much-sympathy-hes-casting-blame/42845f95-edf0-4c9a-9a26-e0ac9b63918a" target="_blank"><strong><span>As wildfires rage in Los Angeles, Trump doesn't offer much sympathy. He's casting blame</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The streets of Hollywood Boulevard were lined with people evacuating hotels in Hollywood as the hills burnt in the background," Reynolds said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The traffic was in complete chaos and there was a moment where we wondered if the gridlock traffic would move, and if it didn't we would have to make a run for it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was one of the most terrifying things I have ever witnessed."</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/01/08/11/43/los-angeles-fires-in-pictures-wildfires-race-across-southern-california"><img alt="Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif." sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/-fUwIKpGw6zwlQbIzhUrJiCp118=/115x690:5884x3935/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F0f418f1d-496e-45b9-8f74-e81fbed12345" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/-fUwIKpGw6zwlQbIzhUrJiCp118=/115x690:5884x3935/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F0f418f1d-496e-45b9-8f74-e81fbed12345 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/SNOEqg_ABPCUxNceClWWQUph5rw=/115x690:5884x3935/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F0f418f1d-496e-45b9-8f74-e81fbed12345 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Residents start returning to homes reduced to rubble in LA wildfires</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/01/08/11/43/los-angeles-fires-in-pictures-wildfires-race-across-southern-california">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Reynolds took her friend back to her Studio City apartment where they stayed awake for hours watching the news and peering over her balcony, terrified the fires would soon reach them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When they learned one blaze had crept over the hill and into the neighbourhood, Reynolds and her friend packed their credit cards, passports, cash, important documents and a few changes of clothes and left.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/la-fires-2025-what-started-it-everything-to-know-explainer/2542c14a-1c3c-476b-9beb-9db0a9d17fef" target="_blank"><strong><span>Here's why LA's ferocious wildfires are burning in the middle of winter</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the time of writing, Reynolds' home hasn't been affected by the fires but she fears what she will return to when the last of the embers die out.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The rebuilding they say will take years, there has already been a housing crisis and I wonder how the city of Los Angeles will accommodate the thousands that have lost their homes," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't doubt that there will be riots and protests in the coming weeks. I hope that they bring in the national guard."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Reynolds was 27 when she </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/diversity-visa-program-aussies-living-american-dream-after-lottery-win-green-card-exclusive/db3def5d-451c-4d95-a2bc-aa0f5d9ac671" rel="" target="_blank" title="won a Green Card"><span>won a Green Card</span></a><span> as part of the Diversity Visa Program, which allows people from a select group of nationalities to live and work in the US.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That was just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing her to return home to Australia where she appeared on reality show </span><a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/beauty-and-the-geek" rel="" target="_blank" title="Beauty and the Geek"><em><span>Beauty and the Geek</span></em></a><span> before jetting back to LA and eventually becoming an American citizen.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now she fears nothing will be left when the wildfires tearing through the city she's come to call home finally burn out, and the people of LA are left to pick up the pieces.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is the most devastation I have ever witnessed. It is so tragic to watch the city you have called home for the past five and a half years burn to the ground."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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