Actor Steve Guttenberg, known for “Police Academy,” warned vehicle owners that they might find their cars slightly damaged. Guttenberg asked locals to leave their car keys if they decided to abandon them during traffic jams caused by wildfires in Palisades. Otherwise, firefighters could be hindered by the traffic.
Cars were moved with an excavator
"What's happening is that people are taking the keys as if they were in a parking lot. This is not a parking lot. We really need people to move their cars," the actor told KTLA on Tuesday afternoon. "If you leave your car behind, leave the key there so a guy like me can move your car so that these fire trucks can get through."
The Palisades fire burned around 700 acres.
The vehicle owners ignored the warning and officials were forced to use a "giant excavator to push the stalled cars to the side of the road on Palisades Drive and create a path for emergency vehicles," as reported by KTLA.
"If this is your car, unfortunately this is an emergency situation and this is what they have to do," Gene Kang explained to KTLA. Kang also confirmed that "yes, it is causing damage, as you can hear from the squealing noises. But that's what they have to do," he added.
Viral video of cars being dragged by the bulldozer
On social media, videos of how abandoned cars left by residents were being moved by a bulldozer in Pacific Palisades to be removed from the roads.
The main route to enter or exit the affluent neighborhood of Los Ángeles quickly became blocked while residents hurried to safety, forcing motorists to leave their vehicles behind after emergency services ordered evacuees to leave immediately.