As the wildfires first ignited in the enclave of Pacific Palisades, Caitlin Doran frantically made her way to her childhood home to check on her beloved pet Tiptoe, a 23-year-old, 175-pound tortoise that she’s cared for since receiving him as a Christmas gift at age 7.

In the initial hours of the January 7 blaze, she didn’t expect the flames to inch close to her parents’ home, but after a call from her mother, Cindy Ford, she headed there from her place at Marina Del Rey to check on everyone.

“It took me less than a minute to get into the car because the last time we had a fire that was close enough was in 2019 and the neighborhood was evacuated, and you weren’t able to get in or out. That was my biggest fear,” Ms. Doran, 27, told The New York Sun.