From antiques to family photos: What LA wildfire evacuees took – and what they left behind [Video]

A vintage green-leather Rolex watch case. An Alekos Fassianos painting. A hard drive and albums with family photos. Phone chargers and laptops. Medications and passports, of course. Some clothes. Most importantly, the pets.

As Santa Ana winds propelled a series of raging wildfires that wiped out homes and businesses across once-picturesque swaths of Southern California, tens of thousands have been forced from their homes in a haze of uncertainty: What to pack? How long will they be gone? What will they return to?

With destruction on their doorstep, evacuees like Maryam Zar grabbed what they could in their final whirlwind moments at home.

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“You’re just kind of on autopilot,” said Zar, a former chair of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, who knew her hillside California neighbourhood has long been vulnerable to wildfires. “In my head I had sort of thought it through. So I ran through the house pretty quickly …