T.O.D,
We were living in Agoura, CA in 1970 during that Malibu fire.
We had to evacuate in 2 cars. My wife, at the time, got into an accident, and she and two of my step kids had to abandon the car and run through flames to escape. Luckily, I had my son, David, with me. (It was also his first birthday.)
I took David, his grandmother, my stepdaughter and our cat to my cousin's place in Westwood. We didn't know that the rest of the family was okay for several hours.
I am thankful that David is now living here in Austin.