'A pillar of the community': TikTok famous pet tortoise saved from California wildfires by owner Caitlin Doran

Hundreds of homes have been destroyed in the affluent arena of Pacific Palisadesm including those of celebrities, but TikToker Caitlin Doran managed to get her 23-year-old pet tortoise Tiptoe out to safety just in the nick of time.

Their story has now amassed millions of views across social media. Doran, who has more four million followers on her @caitlinandtiptoe page, told USA Today: "I'll give it a day, maybe go up there tonight just to see [what's left] because I'm curious. But, I mean there's, nothing there. We got him out at the perfect time. He wouldn't be here today."

Doran first heard about the fire on the morning and quickly went to her parent's home in the Palisades, where she and the 175-pound tortoise film content together, and decided to move him to the home of her aunt and uncle. Initially, this was as a precaution but shenthen took him to her own house in Marina Del Rey as things got worse.

She later returned to the Palisades once again in order to get her grandparents, both of whom are in their eighties, to safety. She said: "We had to go up the back way because everything was closed.

"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 mum's on the roof, my dad's in the backyard with the hose. My boyfriend went up to my dad and he just had to say ‘it's done, the water stopped working’.”

Tiptoe was given to Doran as a Christmas gift in 2001 and has lived in her parents' house since then. He has become an integral part of the community.

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

As well as Tiptoe, Doran has moved her grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, brother and two cousins and admitted that they just have to "figure it out" together when it comes to moving on from the devastation.

She told People: "I mean, everybody lost their house. "So it's all of us. We're all going to be figuring it out together, but there's nothing to go back to.

"We're fifth-generation Palisadians. My mum, we lived across the street from my grandparents where my mum grew up. My aunt and uncle are three streets down, all gone. All of our houses are gone.

“My grandpa's, the property owner for the Ralphs, the Pharmaca, the hardware store and the car wash. I think the Ralphs is gone. I mean, the whole community's gone."