January 7th, 2025, LA California faced devastating wildfires with the two largest, the Palisades and Eaton fires, resulting in destruction across almost acres of land, 62.5 miles.
“The biggest challenge was seeing all this destruction and not having some easy solution, but also making sure everyone was taken care of,” Sayeh, a resident who lived near the Palisades fire, said. “It was hard watching countless people losing their homes and jobs.”
This horrific event caused so much destruction in many ways. The air quality, as a result of the smoke, became so horrible, as it contained high levels of lead and arsenic, causing many people in the region to get sick. Another problem was the fires causing over 150,000 people to be displaced, according to NBC News, with many migrating to places such as New York, as the incident caused thousands of homes and structures to be destroyed. Additionally, there were a total of 29 deaths following the fires, according to NBC News. It was unbelievable to many residents at the scene.
One of the deaths caused by the fire was Arthur Simoneau, a 69 year old hang-glider pilot of 40 years. He was returning from a skiing trip when he heard of the Palisades fire, causing him to rush to his home and protect it. “He was heading home to save it if he could,” Murillo, a longtime friend of Arthur, said. “Arthur was the kind of guy that once he put his mind to something, you couldn’t really talk him out of stuff. That’s his nature is to protect the community, protect his house. I would imagine that’s what he did,” Susan, a neighbor of Arthur, said. “He cared about the community a lot, and would do anything to try to help it.” This was just one of the amazing people who died during the fires.
Photo taken of the Palisades Fires, Image by CAL FIRE_Official
Although many negative things occurred, the communities in the heart of the fires managed to stay strong together. “Community got together to support everyone affected,” said Sayeh, which could be one of the leading reasons for the effects of the fire not being a lot worse than it could’ve been.
Behind the scenes, cleanup has already started thanks to the EPA and US army corps of engineers, it’s about “residents safety, workers safety. Moving quickly, efficiently and Protecting the environment.” said Anna Drabek, an EPA Community Involvement Coordinator.
For the environmental corporations and citizens, both share the sentiment of being ”grateful to serve the people, people are thankful for the work, they understand the importance of the hazardous material removal and quick work.” said Anna Drabek.
Looking back, the Los Angeles fires were a destructive and catastrophic event changing many lives. However, there were positive outcomes such as bringing together a stronger community bond. People supported each other during a time of crisis.
