Major wildfires have blazed through Southern California since Jan. 7, sending shockwaves throughout the world. The cause of the fires are still unknown and the blazes burned nearly 50,000 acres around the greater Los Angeles area according to CAL FIRE, a fire protection, prevention, and emergency response department that tracks fire incidents around California. They have displaced hundreds of thousands of people, caused the destruction of over 16,000 structures, and taken the lives of at least 29 people.
As of Feb. 1, CAL FIRE reports that the five fires surrounding the Los Angeles area range from 700 and 23,500 acres burned. The two largest fires, Eaton and Palisades, burned 14,021 and 23,448 acres respectively. They are still listed as active according to Cal Fire’s active incident report, but have 100 percent containment.
“The fire got within four or five blocks [of our house] but we were very lucky,” South Palisades resident Julia Victor said.
Victor got a text at about 10:30 a.m. from her partner that there was a brushfire in Palisades. At first, she was not worried because brush fires commonly occur during the fire season. In a mere 30 minutes, chaos began to unfold.
“Everyone around the neighborhood can see the smoke and it seems close,” Victor’s partner said in a text.
Victor was unable to return home before the area had been forced to evacuate. At the time, her partner had only managed to grab a couple days worth of clothing. For two days they were left with unease, not knowing if their house was still standing. Upon returning to their home, they found it was miraculously still standing, but it received an extensive amount of smoke and ash damage.
“To make it livable, they’re saying it’ll probably be at least another month to two months,” Victor said.
In the meantime, the couple are taking refuge at an Airbnb. As far as the cost, their insurance providers are covering $24,000 for rent coverage. While they are grateful for the money they received, Victor believes she will be able to get 2.5 months worth of rent with the money. After that, the couple is going to have to pay out of their own pocket. Her neighbors, on the other hand, weren’t so lucky. According to Victor, the 90272 Palisades zip code, which her home is adjacent to, received a letter from State Farm on Jan. 2 that their fire insurance would be dropped, which means they will no longer receive any compensation if a fire destroys their home.
As hundreds of thousands of other Angelenos are dealing with loss from what is being coined as the “costliest blaze in US history” by The Guardian, there is a long road ahead for those affected. According to an LA Times article, total losses including healthcare and business disruptions are estimated to be greater than $250 billion.
To support California in fighting the fires, former President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 9 that the federal government will cover 100 percent of Los Angeles fire response for the next six months, according to CBS News. The local San Rafael Fire Department as well as San Francisco Fire Department sent engines and fire crews down to the Palisades area, as stated on the websites of City of San Rafael and San Francisco Examiner. Additionally, various states sent over 7,500 fire fighters to fight the fires, according to California’s official government website. Los Angeles also received international help from Canada and Mexico, according to the New York Times.
For recovery efforts, countless celebrities, organizations, and companies around the world including the likes of Beyonce, Amazon, The NFL, and Mill Valley’s very own KK Swaps have donated various funds and relief items to support those affected by the fire.
KK Swaps is a business driven by recycling gently used young girl’s and women’s clothing. On the weekend following the ignition of the fires, they partnered with TYSA, a boutique store in downtown Mill Valley to set up a clothing drive to donate to fire victims. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday Jan. 11 and Sunday Jan. 12., KK swaps received donations amounting to over 260 boxes of gently used clothing and monetary donations reaching nearly $8,000.
“The community stepped up and donated far more clothing that we could fit in our 30 foot UHaul truck,” Tam junior and KK Swaps director Larkin Archibald said.
Archibald added that UHaul gave a significant discount for the truck and other moving supplies given their cause. On Jan. 13, following packing up all of the clothing, volunteer parents drove the UHaul down to a TYSA warehouse in LA where the goods were distributed.
“We feel incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support surrounding our clothing drive,” Archibald said.
All of the support from around the world has created one less worry for families affected, but Victor believes help will be most needed when international focus is off the fires.
“Three months from now when insurance starts to run out, when housing starts to continue to get scarce, is when LA is going to need the most help,” Victor said.
For those who wish to donate, below is a list of a few of the many organizations that are providing relief for fire victims:
www.lafoodbank.org/donate/disaster-relief/
