When Debbie Alexander arrived back in the Riviera section of the Palisades on January 7 around 12:30 p.m. there was already a long-line of cars evacuating on Sunset.
Photo: DEBBY ALEXANDER
By DEBBIE ALEXANDER
I am writing this piece from the comfort of our Air B & B located in Wilshire Vista located near Pico and Fairfax. Why? I am an evacuee with my husband, Scott, our 25-year-old daughter Lily and our two pups.
Pacific Palisades daily remains in my mind and heart. We bought our home in 1996 and moved into our renovated ranch house in the Riviera 10 months later. I’m a bona fide Valley Girl but only spent 19 years there.
The question no one who resides in the Palisades will ever forget is “Where were you on January 7 when the insane brush fire broke out?”
I was dining with my brother Scott and cousin Edie at Uncle Bernie’s Deli in Encino, when he received a cell phone alert that there was a fire in the Highlands. I saw video, and thought this is not good. I immediately texted dear friends who live in the Highlands offering a place to stay. We adopted a wait-and-see approach.
I spoke to my husband who decided to return home rather than continue to his office in Beverly Hills.
My daughter called me, “Mom, when are you coming home?” She said. “I’m scared.” I stopped by my Mom’s briefly before returning home around 12:30 p.m. The plumes of smoke from the fire were quite large and very visible.
We flipped on local news and waited. My daughter showed us a photo of her friend’s dad watering down his roof. Scott decided to soak our first story with the hose as well. Thank God, he did not dare climb up to the higher elevation.
At 3 p.m., my neighbors and I standing near Corsica and Minorca saw wild flames on the top of the ridge. We guessed the brush at upper Amalfi was now certainly an active fire zone.
Over the next hour, we worked grabbing family portraits off the walls, photo albums, our travel spoon collection, and my childhood stuffed animals.
Clothes? Who needs them? We headed out to our son Casey’s about 4:30 p.m. because our other son Jeremy’s dog had kennel cough.
However, our dear friend Judy in Santa Monica kept texting us, “I have beds and a yard for your dogs.”
After dinner, we took Judy and Peter up on their offer. Their generosity proves no bounds. They gladly housed us for two weeks. Honestly, I thought our evacuation would only be a few days.
On January 20, we moved to our Air B&B. I have personalized it with some of our family photos. Lily and I bumped into evacuated neighbors at Marshall’s.
We needed stuff for the minimal kitchen and socks. Around this part of town, when I share I am an evacuee people respond, “Really?” A nearby cafe gave me a free scone and an Americano.
I know this event has been hard on our beautiful Pacific Palisades residents. My family has certainly not processed the calamity yet. I wake up running away from flames finding comfort in the classic rock I grew up on like Pink Floyd, the Doors and Led Zeppelin.
Last week after 17 days, I finally returned to my house with Scott to meet our insurance’s claims adjusters from the “Catastrophe Division.” They flew here from Dallas and fire is their specialty.
We cannot go home until smoke remediation happens inside and out. My goal is by Valentine’s Day. Fingers crossed. We’re way ahead in this situation suffering “survivors’ guilt.”
On Sunday prior to the disaster, Scott and I went to Will Rogers Beach at Temescal. As we walked back to the car, I pointed out Tahitian Terrace to him, “What a beautiful place to live,” I remarked. “Just like heaven.” Never in a million years did I think anything like what happened could be possible.
The mystery no one dares discuss is global warming. It’s a taboo topic but needs to be addressed in our rebuild. I am a wholehearted supporter of “Palisades Strong!” As Gloria Gaynor sang instead of I, “We will survive!”
Stay tuned for part 2 of Tales from the Evacuation Zone. Also, please feel free to reach out to me at skittlesforever@msn.com to share your stories.
Debby’s dogs are also evacuated from the Palisades. Photo: DEBBY ALEXANDER
I just don’t understand why global warming is a contributing factor to this fire. Please educate me — I am all ears. To me, contributing factors are: a) lack of controlled burns to clear brush (except on personal property which we are required to do every year or be fined) b) lack of readiness when LA officials knew that hurricane like winds were on the way c) lack of LAFD trucks (100 were sitting in the maintenance yard in need of help d) an empty reservoir for a year that actually could have been repaired for $89,000 e) inadequate hydrants that were long overdue for a fix f) DWP, LAFD, and LA city officials more focused on DEI than infrastructure deficiencies (listen to chiefs’ reporting dialogue about their progress in hiring percentages and finally bonds passed by the populace to fix the water system that have not been spent. So please tell me how climate change caused this fire?
Global Warming is a divisive topic that separates people along political lines. Better to stick with day to day matters if we want to have unity.
Why is climate change considered a political issue? It is a fact. It is something that affects everyone regardless of who you voted for. Severe weather, like the wind storms that were the leading factor of this disaster, is something that will continue to worsen without confronting climate change. If you’re still not convinced, ask yourself why are insurance rates skyrocketing, that is if you’re lucky enough to still have coverage. Insurers are all about the bottom dollar. They could care less about politics. Yet, they can not run fast enough from the business because they see where this is heading.