Actor Dennis Quaid was among those who evacuated with his family due to the Palisades Fire, and as evacuation orders spread to Encino and the Mandeville Canyon area, he said the destruction was difficult to comprehend.

“‘Who would have thought?” Quaid told NBC Los Angeles on air after retrieving some of his daughter’s belongings this evening. “Who knew? We’ve all learned a really important lesson – that our experience of reality can change in an instant.”

The strong Santa Ana winds and massive fires in the Los Angeles region are occurring in January, which has historically been an off-season for wildfires in Southern California. But the region was dry and did not receive its typical rain, officials said.