On January 7th at 10:30 AM, a fire began to break through Palisades Drive in the Pacific Palisades area. A large plume of smoke began to appear, shocking many LA county residents as it swelled through the Malibu sky. Records would later show that the fire started to burn around 10 acres. The Palisades Fire kept expanding at a rapid rate, and in just an hour, the fire grew to cover around 200 acres, consuming homes, buildings, and vehicles that were in its path. Around this time, firefighters began to issue evacuation orders from the point of origin down to the Pacific Coast Highway. However, by 3:30, the fire had grown 6 times its previous size and had already burned through 1,262 acres of land. By the end of the day, about two more fires emerged, the Eaton Fire and the Hurst Fire, which caused residents of Pasadena, Altadena, and Santa Clarita to be evacuated.
Fires began to worsen even more due to the high winds that night, making it extremely hard for firefighters to contain them. By the next day, multiple school districts in proximity of these fires were closed, and by the end of that night, the first two fatalities were confirmed. This death toll continued to climb as the days went on. Numerous firefighting teams around California continued to work to contain and extinguish the fire. Firefighters from Mexico and Canada were also sent to help battle and contain the ongoing fire. The Hurst fire was finally contained and extinguished by the 16th of January, and recently, the Palisades fire had reached 95% containment, and the Hurst fire had reached 99% containment. The aftermath of these fires was devastating and left 27 people dead, destroyed thousands of structures, and many lost their homes. The fires also caused billions of dollars in damages, and major landmarks were destroyed. Water systems were also affected by the fires, making water unsafe to drink in some areas. This devastation was felt by communities all over LA County.
However, this did not stop residents from all over the Los Angeles area from coming together to gather and collect donations, meals, and goods to donate to those who were impacted. I had an opportunity to interview Wilson Tech-Pathway Counselor Mr. Darcy, whose parents were a major contributor to helping their community. His dad’s side had lived in Altadena for about four generations. After the fires, he stated, “I’ve seen communities gather together from all over, but especially Altadena and Pasadena where people are being turned away from volunteering since they have many volunteers now, in regards with help with donations and clothes and food and water.”Mr. Darcy also said, “I’m super excited to see what’s going to come forward. Even with the tragedies, it is nice to see the community come together.”
Over more than $100 million have been raised through GoFundMe to help support families that were impacted. These donations have helped many families across LA, showing the positive impacts when communities come together.
