When wildfires hit L.A., driver Ian Villatoro opened the Lyft app to help his neighbors. Here is the story of his 36-hour journey helping a man find his father.

In January 2025, devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles County, destroying thousands of homes and displacing entire communities. Amid the chaos, one Lyft driver named Ian made the decision to stay on the road—not to earn fares, but to help people reach safety.

What began as a ride from Burbank Airport quickly became something more. Ian picked up a passenger desperately searching for his elderly father, who had remained in Altadena as evacuation orders spread across the region. Over the next several days, Ian volunteered his time to help navigate road closures, active fire zones, and rapidly changing conditions in an effort to find him.

After learning about Ian's actions, our team traveled to Los Angeles to retrace the route he and the rider had taken through Altadena. What stuck with us wasn't what we saw, but what was missing. Entire blocks had been reduced to empty lots, and the occasional house left standing felt almost surreal. Retracing their journey made the scale of Ian's effort impossible to fully appreciate until we experienced it ourselves. We knew this story wasn't about Lyft, but about what people are willing to do for one another in moments of crisis, and how an ordinary ride became an extraordinary act of compassion.

Outcome

The project combined documentary filmmaking and editorial storytelling to preserve a remarkable act of humanity during one of Los Angeles' darkest moments.

Traveled to Altadena to retrace the journey firsthand, using location-based storytelling to bring authenticity and emotional weight to the narrative.
Helped extend attention to communities still recovering months after the fires, including neighborhoods that received less national coverage as the news cycle moved on.
Created a lasting record of a driver whose actions transformed a routine Lyft ride into a life-changing act of service.

This story was told through both a short documentary and companion editorial feature.

Read the article here.

Team

Creative Director
Alexis Hazelwood

Director of Photography
Peter Garafalo

Producer & Editor
Connor Lynch

Photographer
Justin Kaneps

Writer
Sarah Conlisk