CBS News Team Rescues Three Dogs from a Burning House During LA Wildfires
CBS News Team Breaks Into a Burning House to Save 3 Dogs from LA Wildfires
They had no idea that flames would break out in their area, putting their pets in risk, when they left their house in Los Angeles for separate excursions out of state. They were unaware of the situation. Two CBS personnel were present, which was a fortunate turn of events that saved the day.
A family from the neighborhood was away from their residence on January 7, 2025, when the Palisades flames broke out in Los Angeles. As a result of the dogsitter being stranded on the highways going to their house, they had to leave their three dogs behind with the dogsitter.
During the time that the flames broke out, Andrea Pasinetti was working in San Francisco, while his wife, Sixuan, was away, according to the accounts. Following the destruction of surrounding homes on Lachman Lane by the fires, the three dogs were left to fend for themselves.
Andrea promptly booked a flight back to Los Angeles in the hopes of rescuing their pets, Alma, Archie, and Hugo. She was concerned about their animal companions. “The flight into [Los Angeles] was definitely very, very difficult because we just didn’t have any information,” he remarked to CBS News as he was in a hotel room on his way to the airport.
He was picked up at the airport by a buddy who was ready for the rescue operation by bringing supplies like as blankets and things that do not catch fire. When they were eight minutes away from the Palisades, they battled to get admission due to “cops at most intersections.” They rushed to the Palisades, but they were unsuccessful.
“It’s this feeling of helplessness and devastation, and also just the unknown,” Andrea said while describing his emotions at this time period. A desire to keep one’s hope alive while simultaneously preparing oneself for the worst possible outcome.
They came to the realization that they had two choices while he was on the phone with his wife: either Andrea would find a method to get to the house by car, or someone else would have to obtain entrance to the house. Jonathan Vigliotti, a reporter for CBS News, was reporting from Palisades Charter High School when Sixuan recognized him. She was watching the news at the time.
They began their efforts to get in touch with the reporter after discovering that the school was situated in close proximity to their residence. Initially, they sent tweets to the reporter, and then, they reached out to his colleague and his friend.
The word was successfully sent to Jonathan by that friend, Christian Duran, who is a producer for CBS News. Both of them came to the conclusion that they should collaborate in order to save the Pasinetti dogs. These courageous individuals made their way to the residence of the family, which Andrea subsequently described as being “on its last legs.”
It was acknowledged by the dog owner that “We knew it was a tall order to extract all three dogs from the house.” Andrea allowed the two guys to shatter any windows in order to enter the house, even though they did not have a key. This presented another problem for them.
As far as Andrea is concerned, the three canines were rescue animals and were “pre-wired with a lot of anxiety.” Because Hugo was hiding under a bed and Alma was standing close to the entryway, it was difficult to rescue them simultaneously.
Alma was successfully captured by the CBS News crew, and Andrea was under the impression that they had thrown a blanket over her in order to quiet her down and carry her. After that, they turned their focus to Archie. “I imagine that they had to lift the bed in the primary bedroom in order to extract Hugo,” the resident of Palisades shared further.
In spite of the fact that the house was engulfed in flames, Jonathan and Christian attempted to save the dogs by putting their own safety at danger. It was only a few hours after the dogs were rescued that Andrea found out that the house had been destroyed by fire when she returned. When he learned that all three dogs were free from harm, he was overcome with emotion.
Andrea made the observation, “I have never felt that mixture of joy and relief and exhaustion and despair and gratitude towards someone.” He then stated, “The generosity and kindness and risk that they put themselves through to get the dogs was really — I think it’s the best that humanity has to offer.”
It prompted him to consider the things that are most important in his life. He expressed his opinion, “I think we go through life accruing so much stuff and curating our belongings, but at the end of the day, it’s all stuff — and while it’s sad to lose, I think the possibility and prospect of losing something much more important just put it into perspective.”
Another person who lives in Palisades expressed their appreciation to the firefighters and other first responders for their courageous efforts in rescuing homes. That night, despite the continued chaos, one of the firefighters even offered to take him to his residence.
As a result of putting their lives at danger, he believed that these brave individuals deserved every bit of credit. After some time had passed, CBS News published a video of Andrea’s story, which included footage of the dogs that Jonathan and Christian had rescued.
Andrea expressed his profound appreciation by posting a picture of himself next to his dogs and expressing his gratitude to the two CBS employees for going above and above to “keep our family whole.”
In addition, Jonathan shared a video by Andrea in which he described his experience and said, “This took place in the midst of the chaos that occurred on Tuesday night.” We were on the verge of not going, my producer and I. It was a mistake on our part to believe that the house and the pets would be alright.
According to the website of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, there have been 177 wildfires, 40,696 acres burned, over 12,300 structures destroyed, 27,799 emergency responses, and 24 fatalities occurring as a result of the wildfires in the Palisades.
