Firefighter Comforts Dog Wandering Burning California Neighborhood While Battling L.A. Wildfires

Charlotte Phillipp is a Weekend Writer-Reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2024, and was previously an entertainment reporter at The Messenger

Heartbreaking video footage from the ongoing Eaton Fire, one of the multiple wildfires burning in Southern California, also captured a tender moment between a lost dog and a firefighter.

On Wednesday, Jan. 8, ABC World News Tonight shared footage on social media showing firefighters working to contain the raging Eaton Fire. Located east of Los Angeles in Pasadena and Altadena, the fire started on Tuesday and has grown to an estimated 10,600 acres since then.

In the clip, a wandering black dog emerges from a block of burning houses in Altadena and walks along a sidewalk as wooden fences and bushes burn behind it.

Eventually, a nearby firefighter battling the blaze — shown dressed in gear from head to toe and holding a hose spraying water on a burning home — calls the scared dog up to them and calms the pet down by patting it on the head, while still hosing down the home with their other hand.

ABC reported that a local animal rescue organization later took the dog to safety.

Social media users were moved by the firefighter’s kindness, writing in the comments of ABC’s TikTok post that the person was a “hero.”

“A real hero,” one person wrote, as another chimed in: “It’s not just a housing [and human] tragedy, but all the animals too. This breaks my heart.”

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone confirmed on Thursday that the growth of the Eaton Fire “has been significantly stopped,” but it is still 0% contained.

The fire chief said nearly 900 firefighting personnel had been assigned to fight the Eaton Fire and added that the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

The Palisades Fire, located on the coast in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, is also still burning. The Los Angeles County Fire Department shared that as of Wednesday, it had reached 15,832 acres and was 0% contained.

Amid the chaos, additional fires have also broken out in the Hollywood Hills, Studio City, Acton, and Sylmar, all in Los Angeles County.

Thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged — including those of many celebrities residing in Los Angeles — and animals have been deeply affected by the blazes. One veterinarian made headlines after she offered evacuees a place to house their pets.

Annie Harvilicz, who runs the Animal Wellness Centers in Marina del Rey and Laguna Vista Veterinary Center in Harbor City, told the Los Angeles Times that she had taken in roughly 20 dogs, 20 cats, and her brother’s rabbit Oreo, as her hospitals can help treat pets with injuries and offer extra food and bedding.

“The majority of people reaching out are multiple pet owners. They might be able to take one dog or cat to a hotel, but not two or three,” Harvilicz said.

Also, horse owners have been working to move their animals to safety as stables have begun burning in the blazes. Local outlet KTLA reported that 40 horses have been rescued from the Eaton Fire. The outlet added that one escaped horse ran away during the rescue, but a passerby found her — healthy and with minimal singed hair — and reunited her with her owner.

Local affiliate station ABC7 reported that there are over a dozen locations for evacuees to take their  pets — both small and large — including the  L.A. Equestrian Center in Burbank, Calif., El Camino High School in Woodland Hills, and Agoura Animal Care Center in Agoura Hills.