On Jan. 8, 2025, a viral video (archived) circulated online, claiming to show two men and a dog inside a home surrounded by flames from the Pacific Palisades wildfire in California.
(X user @TheKevinDalton)
The oldest version of the video we could find was posted by Kevin Dalton on X with the caption: "Nightmare Fuel Two men and a dog trapped in a home surrounded by the Palisades fire." The footage shows huge flames outside the window walls of a residential home. Two men are heard discussing what to do as they try to calm a large, gray dog.
Man 1: Hi (Unintelligible) You're gonna be OK. Hi, you're gonna be OK. Oh s**t.
Man 2: Oh, we gotta pack.
1: Don't worry about that dude.
1: Look at it. Holy shit.
2: Scary as f***.
1: Yeah. The plastic is gone dude. F***
2: (Unintelligible)
1: Yeah. Oh s**t.
1: So, where's the gas?
2: Outside
1: OK. The gas is off right now?
2: (Unintelligible)
1: Hm? No, don't open the window. Don't open. Don't open anything. Just stay in here. F***.
The video spread to other (archived) viral (archived) and official (archived) X accounts on Jan. 8, gathering millions of views. It also featured in reports by outlets like Fox and the New York Post.
However, the origins of the video and details like location and recording date are unconfirmed as of this writing. Dalton, who posted the video, did not record it. He later claimed (archived) that "the dog and both his humans were able to safely evacuate the property," but gave no background as to how he knew this. We have found no reputable reports confirming this detail that did not refer back to Dalton. We have reached out to Dalton for more information on the source of the video and the listed emergency services handling the Palisades fire to confirm whether they have carried out a rescue matching the details seen in the video. We will update this report when we get a response.
The destructive Palisades fire, which started on Jan. 7, 2025, burned more than 15,000 acres by Jan. 8, according to Cal Fire (the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection). Evacuations were underway in multiple areas in Los Angeles County. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Officials said on Jan. 8 that no one had died in the fire, though there were a high number of "significant injuries" to people who had not evacuated and firefighting personnel.
There was nothing in the video to indicate that it was not genuine or that it was generated by artificial intelligence. The recorder's reflection can be seen in a mirror or glass frame at the 00:15 time stamp and follows the recorder as it should. The dialogue flows in the expected way. However, there is also nothing in the video to confirm the recording location as being in the Pacific Palisades.
According to a Google Images reverse search of the first frame of the video, it started circulating on Jan. 8. Older results did appear, but the attached links did not lead to postings of the video. This indicates that it is possible the video shows the Palisades fire or other nearby wildfires at that time, though this is not confirmed. TinEye, another reverse image search engine, did not produce any results for the same frame of the video.