The Eaton Canyon and Palisades wildfires, which began last week, devastated many Black and Brown community members who spent their lives working hard for their place of leisure. Many have suffered, with their childhood and family homes left in complete ruins by a fire that has run for over a week starting on Jan. 7.
A multitude of videos are available on social media and the news, with fire survivors grieving their loss. The Eaton Canyon fire has currently burned over 14,000 acres, and the Palisades fire over 23,000 acres. As of Wednesday, the Eaton Canyon is 45 percent contained, and the Palisades Fire is 19 percent contained. The Kenneth Fire has subsided with 100 percent of it being contained on Saturday, Jan. 11, but burned 1,052 acres of land.
Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor of LA, Karen Bass, have received criticism from the public, questioning if they properly had funding prepared for residents of LA County ahead of the wildfire disaster.
Governor Gavin Newsom is already in talks of rebuilding Los Angeles. In a “Meet the Press” interview with NBC, he discussed launching the “Marshall Plan” that will focus on rebuilding Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Newsom has also launched an executive order to attempt to prevent price gouging and fraud and accelerate the insurance claim process for survivors who have lost their homes. Despite this, Newsom has received severe criticism from the public and President-elect Donald Trump.
Last Thursday, Mayor Karen Bass said, “Los Angeles will stand united and stand strong.” She continued,” Our priorities, of course, are to keep Angelenos safe and to protect homes.” The mayor urged the public to continue to support survivors. Bass has also received severe criticism as some members of the public launched a petition on change.org to have her resign, with over 100,000 signatures.
Residents of Altadena and Pasadena have expressed their deep distress on social media about the loss of their homes. A woman on Instagram shared a video on Monday of her home burned down in ruins, sounds of her crying in the background, with a caption that said: “The cops were telling me I had to leave, and I didn’t even have enough time to process what I was seeing, so I took a video.”
She continued,” I feel like the rug was pulled from under me… I see my entire community in mourning. It’s genuinely incomprehensible.” She also said that her entire life, community, and future have all changed overnight by the devastating Eaton Canyon fire. Other folks who are affected have posted GoFundMe accounts asking for assistance in rebuilding homes that were passed down for generations.
Another woman also wrote a social media post with a photo of her grandparents’ family home. The caption said, “My grandparents lost their family home in Altadena during the fire. I’m absolutely heartbroken for my family.”
Some of the survivors and families have found support, such as a person whose family received a generous total donation of $36,000. They shared a caption with a video on Instagram that said, “Thank you… thank you for your generosity! My aunt was able to get a hotel room for a week. This alleviates her immediate worries about where to lay her head.”
Our Weekly reached out to several survivors for more comments, but many have declined interviews due to grieving and needing space. Shelters and donation centers have also declined interviews, as their primary focus is to help those who were affected by the wildfires.
Over the week, many community spaces across the Southland in cities such as Los Angeles, Santa Anita, Westwood, Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Pasadena, and other spaces have opened their doors to receive donations and volunteers and offer temporary housing.
More information:
• Santa Anita Race Track (South side, Lot B, by Gate 3 or 8)—fill out a donation interest form at cityofpasadena.net/eaton-fire/ before arrival to donate clothing, perishable foods, toiletries, etc.
• Crenshaw Christian Center – donation drop-off is Monday – Friday, 9 am – 3 pm.
• YMCA is opening all of its Metropolitan Los Angeles locations, not those affected by the fires, for mental health support, basic amenities, toiletries, showers, and temporary shelter.
• Planet Fitness is offering showers and free access to their amenities such as Wi-Fi, massage chairs, and more.
• Red Cross Los Angeles: Visit online to see a full list of shelters in LA County.
• Santa Monica Hotels: Check for evacuation notices before booking some of these hotels that are offering special rates to accommodate fire survivors: The Pierside Santa Monica, Shore Hotel, Viceroy Santa Monica, and more.
• 211 LA offers free temporary shelter through a partnership with Airbnb to assist people who have lost housing. Access the application through Google at care.211cs.org/public-survey and select Emergency Airbnb.
• Mariners Village Apartment Homes in Marina Del Rey offers temporary housing for fire survivors.
• Lyft and Uber: Free rides to evacuation sites and shelters. Use code WILDFIRE25 for two free Uber rides up to $40 each. Use code CALFIRERELIEF25 for two free Lyft rides up to $25 each.
Other donation centers, volunteer support, federal support, and resource centers can be found online at Lahsa.org.