Families search hope amid disaster: Flames still burning LA homes

A bit of calm on the windy front enabled the firefighters to try again to put an end to the LA fire spree since it started. Many like Bridget Berg are still in a spate of shock that just won’t stop leaving. People have returned to the smoldering remains of what they once used to call their ‘home’, even if the threat of the LA fires returning is still high.

The cost is colossal for rebuilding the whole infrastructure once again and what is staring at the faces of some 13 million people is the reality of a huge loss. 

Though the calmness of the Santa Ana winds has helped the firefighters to gain some ground, as far as saving other neighborhoods is concerned, the city is in a mess. Choppy weather is what has exacerbated the matters and the absence of rain for the past eight months has only worsened the conditions. 

The eastern side of the Palisades fire has been ordered for evacuations once again, including part of Interstate 405 after a new flare-up was reported in the area. And this is exactly the same uncertainty that prompted Berg to return and retrieve whatever she could from the remains of her home. Back with her family for the first time since they had to leave their house in Altadena in a hurry, kids are searching their playthings amongst the debris.

Their home of 16 years, like others, has stood like evidence of the destruction caused to the much-treasured belongings of the Bergs. As the family members sifted through the remains, hoping for some retrieval, Japanese wood prints were in mind. Braving the scene, she just kept reminding herself and her family of the loss suffered by everyone else apart from them.

The water reservoir found to be out of order in the LA fire

What is however most perturbing is that an enormous reservoir of water holding about 117 million gallons was out of service according to Gov. Gavin Newsom. And to top it all, some of the hydrants ran dry when they were needed the most. Amidst the blame game of who did what and the much-awaited investigations, the fire has already consumed more than 12,000 structures since it began first.

The structures include homes, apartment buildings, businesses, outbuildings, and vehicles in downtown LA. The area is home to a dense population spreading around 25 miles (40 kilometers) and authorities are still clueless about the origins of the fire.

Around 11 people have been killed in the LA fire as per the statement from the LA County medical examiner’s office and officials say that the number could rise. Cadaver dogs have been pressed into service in the somewhat extinguished fires amongst the ruins. Meanwhile, a center has been set up by the authorities for the people to report the missing persons.

Evacuation orders are still running for tens of thousands of people in an area of 56 square miles. Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has said that the city leadership failed in its duty to provide funds for firefighting. Also, according to her, lack of water proved to be dangerous. She stated, “When a firefighter comes up to a hydrant, we expect there’s going to be water.”

Though private firms are assessing the damages in the LA fire running into tens of billions, the cost is enormous in terms of emotional toll. This includes a bevy of people from waiters to movie stars, even while the Walt Disney Co. announced a $15 million donation to rebuild the areas once again.

Many people were seen sifting through the cardboard boxes of donated items in different parts of the city. At the collection sites, they picked them hoping to rebuild their lives once again, and still, in many regions, others were seen reminiscing through their memories while wandering around. The ruins reminded them of the times gone by as they described their recently upgraded kitchens and outdoor living spaces apart from other rooms.

And most reverentially, they talked about the awesome views of the landscape which attracted them to their properties, in the backdrop of visible soot and ash. Family heirlooms cherished much by the inhabitants in the region, are what is hurting them the most. Greg Benton while searching and surveying for the remains of that, if at all, echoed the same in the coastal community of Pacific Palisades.

Talking and pointing towards his once-standing living room which is now, but a heap of blackened rubble, he said, “We just had Christmas morning right over here, right in front of that chimney. And this is what’s left. It’s those small family heirlooms that are the ones that really hurt the most.”

Though California National Guard troops arrived on the Altadena streets before dawn, yet LA Mayor Karen Bass is face to face with a crisis looming large. Smaller fires have been stopped and firefighters were able to douse flames in the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, swallowing around 7,000 structures off late. The greatest fire of the decade has burnt around 5,300 structures in the Palisades, where the firefighters have gained some ground, though.

Evening curfews are still in place to prevent looting after many arrests happened earlier and thus help protect the property in the evacuation zones. The scale of destruction is massive even for a state like LA which tackles wildfires on a regular basis.