On January 7 in northern Los Angeles, dozens of motorists abandoned their cars on Sunset Boulevard as the Palisades fire took over the nearby hills. In turn, first responders found themselves unable to reach the fire. An LA County bulldozer solved the issue…but left hoards of heavily damaged vehicles in its wake.

In an apocalyptic scene, footage shows the red dozer making its way down Sunset. Crumbling metal and car alarms eerily sound the smoke-filled view. The fire blazes orange above the bulldozer’s roof.

It’s nothing short of dystopian.

Once the bulldozer cleared the path for first responders, an ABC7 reporter narrated the aftermath. 

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this.”

It’s one thing for motorists to have to ditch their cars to escape a natural disaster. “Many of the cars now have dents on them,” he explains.

The LA County Fire Department immediately confirmed that the bulldozer did indeed move all the cars so that the proper equipment could access and fight the flames.

While saving lives and homes is the obvious priority there, many viewers wonder who will cover the bulldozer damage

I worked for State Farm selling auto insurance policies for a few years after college. First, we’d have to assume that the cars aren’t already ruined from the fire. In cases of natural disasters, motorists with comprehensive coverage will only pay their deductible and either receive a total loss payout or the funding to make needed repairs.

Since the bulldozer is a motorized vehicle operated by a driver, the event could be considered a huge group of car accidents. As such, a motorist’s collision coverage would kick in here. Drivers would submit an insurance claim, pay their deductible, and get the insurance payout.

Then, it’s possible the insurance company would seek payback from LA County. However, from what we’ve reported in the past on damage caused to cars by on-duty first responders, recouping the losses could be difficult.

In any case, we hope folks stay safe and get the resources they need to recover.