27 years after Quebec ice storm, Montrealers find themselves in L.A. wildfire's smoke

Montrealers, accustomed to ice storms, snow and cold, found themselves in Los Angeles this week as major wildfires raged throughout the region.

Laura Feiner was 14 years old on Jan. 4, 1998 when her home in Montreal was hit by a major ice storm in one of the province’s worst natural distasters.

Almost 27 years to the date (Jan. 7, 2025), Feiner and her husband Gil Klein found themselves rushing to pack up their dog and cats along with some essentials to evacuate her home on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood as fires in Runyon Canyon Park raged, about a 10-minute walk from where they live.

“I was just there the other day with my dog,” Feiner told CTV News on Thursday. “There was billowing huge black smoke and, initially, we were just taking videos and we kept checking outside and my husband and I noticed it was getting worse.”

The relatively small Runyon Canyon fire, north of West Hollywood is still burning, according to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which lists 98 wildfires burning.

The major Palisades fire, northwest of LA, has consumed 20,438 acres and is eight per cent contained.

Feiner said her building wasn’t officially in an evacuation zone, but residents were grabbing suitcases, pets and other valuables, and getting in their cars to leave.