The only things they could grab were stuffed animals, toothbrushes, Barbie dolls and blankets. Their bunks, football boots and clothes burned with their houses.
The New York Times interviewed 10 children and their parents about what it was like to flee the fires in Los Angeles. They talked about what was bothering them and what made them feel better.
Ivy and Ruby Van Kline they are twins who turned 6 this week. They are in kindergarten at Aveson School of Leaders, a charter school in Altadena, California. Both their house and school burned down, so the family moved in with their grandparents.
Jet Crawford6, was also in kindergarten at Aveson. He lives in a new house with his mother and sister Ilana, 3, after their house in Altadena burned down. Their new town is about 20 minutes from home.
Kurtis Odom, 9, is in the fourth grade at McKinley School of the Arts in Pasadena, California. his sister, Kayla Odom, he is 12 and in high school. They live in a vacation rental after their house burned down and attend school online.
Phoebe Hanelin10, is also in fourth grade. Her school, Marquez Charter Elementary, burned in the Palisades fire. Her house, which was just across the street, is gone. older sister Phoebe, Abigail Hanelinis a sophomore at Palisades Charter High School. Part of her school burned down and now all their classes are online.
Lily Yadegar, Alessandra Santini and Yasmine Santini are friends who also attend Pali High. Lily is 14. Alessandra and Yasmine, both 17, are twins.
Their homes survived, but they spent more than a week evacuated, staying in hotels and rented houses. The three girls wanted to do something for their friends and neighbors, so they started a GoFundMe to help rebuild their school and a donation to help their classmates.
What was it like to leave home?
Ivy he said it was “very, very scary” when the fire came. The power went out. Then the cats started meowing.
“My dad said our house won’t burn down,” Ivy said. “But I knew right before our house was going to burn because it looked like the fire was right in our backyard.
Kurtis he left his home in Altadena in the middle of the night with his mother, older brother and older sister. He saw the fire grow bigger and bigger. They later learned that their house was gone.
“I went back to sleep. i woke up My whole life was broken,” Kurtis said.
“I thought we’d be fine.
Although Yasmine and Alessandra are twins, the teenagers reacted differently to the night of the Palisades fire. Alessandra cried. She packed baby photos and a perfume collection.
She also got clothes. “Most of the time we share our clothes, even though she doesn’t ask me and sometimes I don’t ask her,” Alessandra said.
Yasmine brought things that she thought everyone else would forget, like medicine and food. “And then I brought my baby blanket and the stuffed elephant that I always had,” she said.
How are your days right now?
Ivy, Ruby and their parents live with their grandparents in West Los Angeles. They like that the house is big and has stairs.
“You can climb down and up them and I might even split them,” Ruby said.
Kurtis and Kayla they do school online. Their mother decided to keep them at home while she found out where they would live. When Kurtis isn’t doing schoolwork, he plays cards with his family and talks to friends on his tablet.
Current lives in a new house with donated furniture. His school remains closed and his mother is worried. He has autism and with the help of his teachers he has been doing well.
Phoebe and her sisters have moved twice since their house burned down. And they know they will have to move again. Abigail he is worried about where they will go next.
how are you feeling
Kurtis worry about everything his family has lost.
“Everything is burned,” he said. He wonders how his mom can afford to replace his football boots and other sports equipment.
his sister Kaylashe says she is shy and afraid she might have to go to a new school. “It’s going to be uncomfortable for me,” she said.
Ivy and Ruby were excited to celebrate their 6th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese this weekend, where they hoped to see friends from their old school. And Ruby is looking forward to the milestone at her new school: “When I’m a big kid, I go out to the big kids’ area and go on monkeys.”
Jet’s mom says he was really upset. When she asked him about the fire, he buried his head in the cushions of their new couch.
“It’s broken,” he said. “Mom’s house.”
Lily misses the ride to school with Alessandra and Yasmine and stops at Starbucks on the way.
“We’ve been looking forward to going to high school together our whole lives,” Lily said. “It’s just sad.
Distance learning reminds Abigail pandemic when she was in high school. This time it’s worse. Back then, high school students all over the country were in the same boat.
“It was good at Covid because it was everyone. But now it’s just one school,” she said.
What was special about your home and your school?
Kurtis he will miss the house where he met his grandmother. His grandparents bought it about 50 years ago after they moved from Haiti to California.
Phoebe sometimes she went to school alone. He can’t now. She likes the new school, but it’s not the same. “Their yard is so small, our yard was giant, so big,” she said.
At Pali High, Lily he says they all knew each other. “I’ve only been there for one semester and it already feels like a second home,” she said.
Ivy and Ruby’s the school had a “huge playground”, a garden, chickens named Sunshine and Marshmallow, and a rabbit named Mr. Fluff.
“I don’t know if they brought chickens or bunnies,” Ivy said.
Ivy and Ruby’s house was 99 years old. Their father told them that it had a charm from all the people who lived there and could even grant them their wishes.
“But he died, so we have to celebrate,” Ruby said.
Did you take anything with you?
Phoebe and Abigail he didn’t have time to gain power. Abigail, who likes to read, only took two books and has already finished them.
But they managed to get all their pets: a dog, two cats, a beta fish, a dwarf hamster and Turbo the turtle.
“I only brought two stuffy,” Ivy he said. “And we brought our toothpaste and toothbrushes and we got our blankets and we got some of our pillows and that’s all I brought.”
Ruby he brought barbie dolls. But she is sad because “my slide on the bunk bed that was ours burned.”
Kurtis he brought a school Chromebook and a tablet that he can use to talk to his friends.
“The crazy thing is the trampoline was still standing,” Kurtis said. “And you know what, if the trampoline is standing, I don’t know why the house isn’t.”
