Social media star documents Tiptoe the 175-pound tortoise's escape from the Palisades fire

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LOS ANGELES − The Palisades Fire sent tens of thousands of residents scrambling to evacuate the tony Pacific Palisades neighborhood in northwest Los Angeles. Among them: a social media-famous tortoise named Tiptoe.

Caitlin Doran documented her escape from the fast-growing fire with her 175-pound tortoise on social media Wednesday night. The videos have amassed millions of views.

Doran's family has lived in the area for decades and likely lost everything in the blaze, which has destroyed about 1,000 homes.

"I'll give it a day, maybe go up there tonight just to see because I'm curious," Doran told Paste BN Wednesday. "But, I mean there's, nothing there."

But everything that breathes that Doran loves is alive, including Tiptoe.

"We got him out at the perfect time," she said. "He wouldn't be here today."

Family gets famous tortoise out of fire area, attempts to save homes

Doran was first alerted to the fire by her mother Wednesday morning.

She went to her parent's home in the Palisades where she works with Tiptoe, remembering that access had been blocked during the Franklin Fire in December. She sat on the roof of the house and noted a lack of firefighters and police in the area.

Doran decided to move Tiptoe to the nearby home of her aunt and uncle in the afternoon, fearing the effects of smoke inhalation for the tortoise.

When she saw what she described as "30 to 40 foot flames" on the hillside she decided to move the tortoise to her home in Marina Del Rey.

Doran returned to the Palisades to attempt to save the family's homes and usher out her grandparents, both of whom are in their 80s.

"We had to go up the back way because everything was closed," Doran said. "When we got to the house I see my grandpa has a hose, my uncle has a hose there at the grandparent's house. My mom's on the roof, my dad's in the backyard with the hose."

Doran left the neighborhood at around 7:30 p.m. with her grandparents, mother and uncle. Her boyfriend and father held out until around 11 p.m.

"My boyfriend went up to my dad and he just had to say, 'It's done, the water stopped working,'" Doran said.

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Multi-generational neighborhood destroyed

The neighborhood Doran fled from had been in their home for five generations.

Tiptoe lived in the same home where he was a Christmas gift for Doran 23 years ago. Her grandparents lived across the street with aunts and uncles mere blocks away.

"We'll see how it goes now but every single day over summer, if weather permits, Tiptoe's out in the community," Doran said. "Our neighbors (grew) vegetables for him, they (grew) flowers for him. He's such a pillar of the community."

This town has known fire, been basked in the unnerving orange haze of smoke many times. This outbreak is different.

While Doran has not returned to the area herself, messages from friends and neighbors have said that the entire neighborhood is gone.

"All 15 of my friends that I texted are all houseless," Doran said. "All of their parents' houses burned. I have a couple friends, families who had their electric bikes ... our street is, there is just nothing to go back to."

Family safe, unsure what's next

The Doran family, including Tiptoe and other pets, are together at Doran's Marina Del Rey home.

Doran said that the landlady for the home used workers from renovations at other properties to build the tortoise a home in its new home.

The family has no immediate plans but will eventually have to "suck it up" and have the older members live together. 

"Someone's going to live with grandma and grandpa," Doran said. "They don't have a toothbrush. They don't have anything."

Doran said that Tiptoe has been confused by the sudden move. "He's a little bit in his shell but he ate yesterday."

(This story was updated to to correct a misspelling.)