A long-time Pacific Palisades resident, whose escape from the Palisades Fire on a bicycle with two paintings in his hands was seen by many people from around the world, explained Monday how he ended up fleeing only with the artworks among all of his belongings.
Francois Auroux stepped out of his house as flames from the catastrophic wildfire reached his backyard in January. As he stood in front of the house on the bicycle with the two artworks, Auroux realized there was no way that he could make it out safely.
Luckily, NBCLA’s Robert Kovacik was there.
“Is there anything we can do to help you, sir?” the reporter asked.
“You can take these paintings, I guess,” Auroux responded.
A few days after the fateful moment with the red skies as a backdrop, Auroux was able to get the paintings back from Kovacik, but his family home of 30 years was destroyed, and he lost almost everything in the fire.
Auroux also recalled the “frightening” escape during an interview with California Live on Monday, saying he “unconsciously” decided to grab the screen print of a painting by Greek artist Alekos Fassianos and the artwork by maritime artist Howard Schafer.
The Palisades Fire evacuee said his grandfather had met Fassianos in Paris. And because Fassianos was a prolific Greek artist, many people in Greece saw what happened, Auroux said.
“The daughter of Fassianos reached out to me. So many people from around the world have reached out to me,” he said.
Auroux also said he saved the yacht painting by Schafer in honor of his grandfather.
“My grandfather was a commodore of many yacht clubs, a navy man and an aficionado of maritime art. And this was a piece that he passed on to us when he passed away.”
Auroux added it was “surreal” to get the paintings back from the NBCLA reporter a few weeks later.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but it was so nice to meet Robert Kovacic again and really talk over the whole experience,” Auroux explained.
He said he and his family are now trying to rebuild his home while hoping for the restoration of the Pacific Palisades community.
“I know it’s going to take many years, but just put one foot in front of the other.”
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