Wildfire devastates Los Angeles, CA; residents seek answers. As high winds hit California, fires started in the beautiful Pacific Paldes and could not be contained for long. Many other fires were also beginning to break out: the Eaton fire, the Pacific Palisades fire, the Kenneth fire, the Sunset fire, and many more. This destroyed many significant parts of the Los Angeles area.
The Cause of The Fires
Many have investigated this case. High winds and air conditions could have caused the start of the fires. Since October 1st, the average rainfall has been 10%, and winds have hit almost 70mph. Fire danger has increased across the region.
The Damage
The Palisades Fire erupted the morning of Jan 7, starting to spread through a neighborhood in the Palisades as a brush fire. Twenty-eight people have lost their lives due to the fire. Fourteen thousand structures were destroyed, including many people’s home businesses, famous landmarks, etc., spreading through the neighborhoods, destroying many houses as many others were being evaluated. As many people were trying to assess, there was a lot of traffic through the streets. Firefighters recommended citizens abandon their cars and keep moving to escape danger. The firefighters would then try to force their vehicles off to the side by having a big truck move all of them. It started to spread and destroy many famous landmarks. It destroyed a renowned neighborhood of people’s houses. Many well-known celebrities lost their houses due to this fire. One of the most renowned shopping centers, Pailisdes Paldes, destroyed many businesses where people worked. One of the most typical restaurants, The Reel In, was burnt down. This had been in business for 36 years and is now being destroyed. The Palisades Charter High School where the 1976 “Carrie” was filmed is partially burned down where kids go to school and now have to find somewhere to go to school. The damage cost of the fires was expected to be $385 million.
Inside of The Fire Fighters View
Many firefighters had the same reaction to the fire, many had never seen anything like this before. Firefighters came from all over the place to help put this fire out trying to save as much as they could. They would take valuable items that were important to families out of the house. Many firefighters spent 24/7 trying to put out these fires although had a major concern about not having enough water.
Those Affected by the Fire
New channels interviewed people affected by the fire. BBC News helped show the struggles and a better understanding of what is going on. Multiple residents said they had never seen lives as bad as this before.
A citizen got a call from their neighbor that their house was on fire, saying, “We took our valuable stuff like family pictures and stuff; all of the other stuff is replaceable, but people are not,” while hugging his family.
How the Community is Trying to Help
Communities began to come together to help each other by gathering in parking lots, where they’d bring food, clothes, and other things to help families who had nothing have things. Additionally, many provided toys for young kids who lost them in the fire. In addition, many other celebrities donated money to help the victims of the fires. The effects of these fires have damaged many families, and many people have lost everything.
It will take a long time to rebuild the lost homes where many have grown up and their kids have grown up. The damage this fire has done and the pain it has caused California citizens are truly devastating. Hopefully, with all the financial and communal support, the efforts will heal the communities and all that they have lost.
