A neurosurgeon has been hailed as a hero after he saved his entire Malibu street from being devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires by keeping the raging flames at bay for five nights.
Chester Griffiths, 62, had just finished brain surgery when he ran to his car and crossed Los Angeles to save his beachfront home from being engulfed in fire.
In a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood blockbuster, he joined two other neighbors in fighting tooth and nail to save their homes after having informed his son and other people on his street about his plan of action.
When the inferno ripped through their sunny cul-de-sac, reducing the surrounding houses to ash and rubble, the trio sprang into action.
Over the next five harrowing days and nights, they managed to defend six houses from the raging fire, even as hurricane-force winds sent burning embers the size of footballs into the air.
“At one point I started packing up my car and then I decided I wasn’t going to let my house burn down, no matter what,” said Clayton Colbert, Griffiths’ neighbor. The telegraph.
Armed with fire hoses, shovels and N95 masks, the three men kept the fire at bay in what many would call a miraculous feat of determination.
The stakes could not have been higher.
Chester Griffiths, 62, had just finished brain surgery when he ran to his car and crossed Los Angeles to save his beachfront home from being engulfed in fire.
Griffiths and his son Chester, who said his father is a “champion, he has a warrior mentality.”
Homes along the Pacific Coast Highway are seen burned by the Palisades Fire, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Malibu.
Midweek, the fire, fueled by 80 mph gusts, began engulfing homes on Topanga Beach Drive and within minutes, two neighboring homes were up in flames.
One exploded when eucalyptus trees exploded nearby; another lit up “like a Roman candle.”
‘Everything came this way. “The fire was coming this way, the smoke, the embers in the air, the wind was incredible,” Colbert added, calling the scenes “almost apocalyptic.”
As houses crumbled around them, men climbed to the rooftops, using hoses to put out the flames and shovels to smother hot spots with dirt and sand.
The winds were so strong that they were blown away several times, but they still kept going.
In terrifying footage of the men fighting the fires, the surgeon can be heard breathing deeply as he looks out the window at the orange flames roaring just meters away.
He can be heard pleading with the captain of a nearby fire team for a drop of water, but the response was devastating.
Griffiths was told everyone was grounded, and even planes were out of the question.
With no time to waste, the surgeon returned to the thick cloud of smoke and warned that they would have to fight the flames themselves.
Gasoline and electric vehicles performing repairs pass beachfront properties devastated by the Palisades Fire along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 12, 2025.
Flames near Mandeville Canyon on January 11
A firefighting helicopter drops water as the Palisades Fire grows near the neighborhood of Mandeville Canyon and Encino, California, on January 11, 2025.
Aerial footage reveals aftermath of wildfire devastation in Los Angeles
The determined father of two, along with his 24-year-old son Chester and neighbor Colbert, fought tirelessly to save their homes.
With hoses, a water cannon and even the help of firefighters on the ground, they managed to stop the advance of the flames towards their neighborhood.
The medical professional insists that he felt no fear during the ordeal, because he is a surgeon and is used to being in situations where he is forced to rely on training and preparation when involved in a difficult situation.
And even the group’s exit strategy was meticulously planned, with the trio booking stand-up paddleboards that were ready to launch straight into the ocean if necessary.
Griffith’s son Chester described his father as the driving force behind his survival.
“Honestly, this has all been under my father’s leadership. He’s been preparing for this for a long time. He is a champion; “He has a warrior mentality,” he said.
But for neighbor Colbert, the battle against the flames took a toll, both physically and emotionally.
Speaking to the newspaper, the insomniac 62-year-old admitted he had lost track of time and only realized that his scheduled kidney surgery was that same day.
Colbert spent the first 10 hours alone as the fire approached from the east, devouring everything in its path, including the nearby Reel Inn fish shop, a beloved local spot.
But he soon received an evacuation telephone alert, which he bravely ignored and decided to fight the fire to save his house.
Two people walk along a road in a fire-ravaged community after the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025.
Firefighters watch as water is dumped on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025.
A view of a wildfire as firefighting planes and helicopters drop water on the flames in Mandeville Canyon during the ‘Palisades Fire’ in Los Angeles, California, the United States, on January 10, 2025.
However, Colbert’s efforts were not without danger.
At one point, his hair caught fire, although he joked about the result stating that it looked like he had a full head of hair, even though it was all just ash.
Griffiths bought his property in 2005 and the family moved in four years later.
At the time they had tried to protect it against fires by building sprinklers on the roof and using cement tiles instead of wood.
The neurosurgeon, who is also a doctor for the LA Kings hockey team, said if anything can come from this devastating tragedy, it is that he wants people to know their neighbors.
He claims the trio were only able to carry out the huge operation because they are part of a close-knit community.
‘This whole thing is a fucking tragedy, beyond apocalyptic proportions. “I’m very sad,” he told the newspaper.
While he was grateful that families and their homes were kept safe thanks to his efforts and those of neighbors, he emphasized that the outcome could have been very different.
“I made a video the first night in our house, recording memories in every room,” he said.