Please weigh in! You are in our thoughts and we are concerned about you. The images are hellish.
I live in OC but work for a utility company in LA. We received our notice today for all field personnel to check in. I’m off this week but if I don’t get called in, I’m back on Monday and I’m sure it’ll be an interesting week repairing damage and getting people back in service.
I have a friend whose home burned down. He himself and his family and pet managed to evacuate to a relative’s home just a few hours before his house went up in flames. We were on a scheduled online zoom and he had to leave mid call as the orders came in to evacuate. He sent a video of the fire as it was approaching his backyard - it was horrible. The pictures look apocalyptic - it’s so hard to imagine how one minute you are relaxing in the safety of your home, and within a few minutes it’s all up in smoke.
If there was any reflection for me in all of this, it’s that stuff you own can come and go in an instant - only the relationships you build with family and friends matter in the end.
@Morpheus You are going to be one busy man the next few weeks.
@RadiantHugs Stuff is just stuff in the end. Friends and loved ones are all that really matter in this world. Still, this is such a cold, heartless reminder that it can be gone in an instant and that we are all rather insignificant helpless specks in the grand scheme of things.
Work in the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valley. It’s been hectic and that’s before the two new fires
A few people have asked me in DMs so I’ll answer here. Where I live, there are no fires, thank God. I can’t see fires or smoke at all. Where I work however, is a war zone. As I said, I’m off all week but I’ll be in the middle of it all on Monday.
It’s VERY bad. It looks like a war zone and it’s not done causing massive destruction yet.
Link to a Pacific Paladides drive thru the town on X.
https://x.com/JonVigliotti/status/1877020919475884110
Stay safe.
Fight the insurance companies later. Rebuild or sell the parcel? It’s going to be a massive search and rescue, claims nightmare, amongst loss of wildlife, human life, contaminations ect ect.
Paradise fire 🔥 set a new precedent and now we are mining data already on this.
Los Angeles Reddit Fires thread is 🔥 Visually
My brother and his family and most of my friends had their house burn down in Pacific Palisades. All they can say is they are alive and have the clothes on their backs. Pretty devastating to see it, it really sinks in when you see places where you had good times now just a pile of wood, and not fun when it's people close to you watching their lives go up in smoke and not knowing what to do next. My place is not in the evacuation area, I'm in downtown Santa Monica neat The Promenade but been warned my area might be next. All it takes is one flying ember. My parents are in Pasadena and fires threatening their house too. It's not good. Worst part is I'm out of town, trying to get back, I had the people watching my 0cat evacuate him just in case, so much wish I was there as I know my brother and friends were trying to hose down their house and save things, firefighters pulled some things like his kids bikes and other stuff out of the garage before the whole thing went up, still trying to get back as there's one more house to save, been trying to get on a flight. This was my chance to come through in the clutch and I was stuck somewhere else and that's killing me.
Air bnb is offering displaced fire victims a place to stay for free. Please call 211.
I live in Santa Monica, very close to the beach and the next community over from Pacific Palisades.
Technically speaking, my neighborhood was on the list to evacuate but I’ve been going out a few times a day to survey the situation and fortunately the fires and embers are nowhere close enough to me to be a threat, but I have a number of friends that have lost their homes, none of which had an opportunity to evacuate so they literally have their car, the shirts on their backs and the dogs.
It’s all completely and totally devastating - and that’s not even a strong enough word.
I'm flying home to LA tomorrow and I'm horrified and so worried. Landing late, have to go to East LA to retrieve my car, then Pasadena to pick up my sick dog and can't get ahold of my friends who have him. They were level 2 evac last time I communicated with them but I saw what happened to altadena (my old neighborhood) in less than a day. (It's gone) Trying to keep faith that LA is hustling on and the Ubers will be running and roads open, and my friends are home and fine with my pup, but I can't sleep.
Stay safe and distance yourself as soon or if you can because the looters and criminals have already been hampering fire fighting & evac/rescue efforts.
CalOES is BUSY. ISO is BUSY. FEMA is 💩 their pants and also busy.
https://www.caloes.ca.gov/office-of-the-director/operations/recovery-directorate/recovery-operations/public-assistance/
https://www.fire.ca.gov/
@WestsideMarc Stay safe. Please have a book it backpack ready.
@biancalovecraft Stay safe and hugs to you and the fur babies.
My old apt near 405 is gone and several friends in PP have lost their homes. I’ve offered my house if they want to venture up here. Airbnb and more companies are offering free services without federal/stste soft backings. A more comprehensive list is getting generated.
@TheFunCartel ~ Thank you for the heart behind posting this, and @SunshineHug for sharing these pics that let the rest of us know what these folks are dealing with. It matters.
Our thoughts and moments are with them..
Amen 🙏
https://lacounty.gov/emergency/
https://lafd.org/alerts
My power has been out since Tuesday at 9am. There is fire to north south east and west… some as close as 3 or 5 miles away. But I’m told I’m in a safe space. I am not in an evacuation zone. But I am Considering leaving and going to stay with friends in San Diego if there’s still no power tomorrow. Car is packed up go bag ready. Just hanging out in my jeep right now cause I can’t sleep and I’m charging my phones.
All these stories are heartbreaking and I hope when the fire has subsided, that your experiences conclude on a positive note.
If anyone wants to help from afar please donate what you can to these organizations:
https://www.redcross.org/donate/disaster-relief.html/?donamt=0
https://www.directrelief.org/emergency/california-wildfires/
https://supportlafd.org/
Every little bit helps! I know there are caring people in the CC community!
I own a home in Malibu that (to this point) is still safe. However, I personally have spoken to 28 friends who have lost their homes mostly in Pacific Palisades. Truly heartbreaking and yes it looks as others have described: A WAR ZONE. What is both amazing and a lesson to be learned for the future IS how people can truly come together as a community in times of disaster/stress. The outpouring of open doors gives one hope for humanity. Well most of IT.
Those aerial photos of the fires are impressive. One does have to remember that southern California is naturally a dry, mostly desert climate to start with, and wildfires are a fact of life along the west coast (just as tornadoes are in places like Oklahoma and Texas). Add in massive overdevelopment and use of all the available water, and unfortunately the damage that happens is multiplied as a result.
Can't imagine what it must be like to have to outrun these fires.
My neighborhood was devastated. Evacuating to San Diego for the rest of the week. This is all so sad.
This is one of the worst fears as a homeowner. An entire family's history is wiped out in minutes. And then there's the casualties.
This is a mostly preventable and unecessary tragedy.
I don't know anyone in the affected areas, but those whom are opening their homes to their now homeless neighbors are heroes, as are those of the LAFD whom risk their lives fighting fires.
Serving with Courage, Integrity, and Pride
Here's my advice:
Take the time right now--scan everything. Scan photos, scan documents, scan your paper Awards from youth, scan, scan, scan. Scan, save and put it all on a thumbdrive. Make a copy of that thumbdrive and put each thumbdrive in a separate, secure place.
Again: scan everything. Scan your entire life.
Look, go on the Internet. You can find old US newspapers online from the 1920s. Why? Because someone scanned it into an electronic, digital copy.
Scan everything in your life and put it in a thumbdrive. Just in case if your home ever burns down or gets demolished by a hurricane or tornado, you won't miss a thing. Because, you'll have pictures, you'll have important documents all in a thumbdrive. Your life in a thumbdrive. It's the 21st century. C'mon, it's time.
I wish our lawmakers would take the climate crisis more seriously. So many of these environmental disasters stem from sheer negligence and a failure to prioritize sustainable practices. California’s wildfire season, for example, isn’t supposed to happen in January, yet here we are, facing the consequences of a changing climate and years of inaction. My heart goes out to those impacted by the fires.
This has nothing to do with "climate change." There have been wildfires for most of Earth's 4 billion years of existence.
These fires were largely preventable. This tragedy has more to do with gross incompetence and mismanagement.
That's all. Sorry for getting sidetracked.
No mind the 100 mph winds that ripped through the placid California coast which is bone dry in the peak of winter
Take the time right now--scan everything. Scan photos, scan documents, scan your paper Awards from youth, scan, scan, scan... scan everything. Scan your entire life.
Take the time right now--scan everything. Scan photos, scan documents, scan your paper Awards from youth, scan, scan, scan...
scan everything. Scan your entire life.
Excellent advice @89cadillac
.
Always get Loss of Use and most insurance will relay digital kits when you sign up to catalog all your items. Most great ins reps will tell you twice annually to catalog new items.
Now with electric cars and their charging systems whether inside an attached garage or attached to the home can jeopardize fire claims, personal property and without heeding mandatory evac orders that can be an issue on claims.
Sad to survive such loss and peril and then rely on your insurance to cover while it takes times for the adjuster and processing. Loss of use will assist while it’s all gathering data to finalize your claim.
FEMA caps at 34 K and has historically NEVER paid that amount or in California. Average CA Payment is under 3500. Here that is half a month of rent in PP.
The throttling the water supply was also an issue during an eminent disaster.
So many learning experiences. Winds, flames, tight structures feeding fuel, rough terrain ect.
Winds in Tahoe reached over 200 mph and in LA county over 100 mph.
Where is an atmospheric river when & where you need it!
As a third-generation Angeleno, I’ve witnessed firsthand the changing dynamics of our environment, especially when it comes to the Santa Ana winds. Growing up, these winds were intense but typically short-lived, lasting only a couple of weeks. Now, they feel like an ever-present force, stretching far beyond what used to be the norm.
@brownglucose - I share your frustration about the lack of urgency in addressing the climate crisis. While wildfires aren’t new, their increasing frequency, intensity, and occurrence outside traditional seasons are clear signs of broader environmental shifts. It’s a perfect storm of climate change, poor land management, and urban sprawl into fire-prone areas. While better policies and management practices could help mitigate some risks, the role of our warming planet cannot be overlooked.
To everyone impacted by these fires, my heart goes out to you. This is our home, and it’s devastating to see it so vulnerable.
Saw an old friend post about her & her families demolished home... My heart, as well, goes out to anyone who's been affected by these fires. It's easy to take things for granted until they're gone. I'm sorry for anyone who's lost loved one's or their home to this.