All they were able to grab were stuffed animals, toothbrushes, Barbie dolls, and blankets. Their bunk beds, cleats and clothes were burned in the house.
The New York Times interviewed 10 children and their parents about what it was like to flee the Los Angeles fires. They talked about what they were worried about and what was helping them feel better.
ivy and ruby van klein They are twin sisters who just turned 6 years old this week. They are in kindergarten at Aveson Leader School, a charter school in Altadena, California. Both their home and school burned down, so the family moved in with their grandparents.
jet crawford6, was also in Aveson's kindergarten. He lives in a new home with his mother and sister Ilana (3) after their Altadena home burned down. Their new town is about 20 minutes from home.
Kurtis Odom, 9, I'm a fourth year student at McKinley School of the Arts in Pasadena, California. his sister, Kayla Odom, I'm 12 years old and in middle school. They are living in a vacation rental after their house burned down and they were doing school online.
phoebe hannelin10 is also a fourth grader. Her school, Marquez Charter Elementary School, was destroyed by the Palisades fire. Her house across the street is gone. Phoebe's sister Abigail Hanelina second-year student at Palisade Charter High School. Part of her school burned down and all classes are now online.
lily yodegar, Alessandra Santini and Yasmine Santini I have a friend who also goes to Pali High. Lily is 14 years old. Alessandra and Yasmin, both 17, are twins.
Their home survived, but they were evacuated for more than a week, staying in hotels and rental homes. The three girls wanted to do something for their friends and neighbors, so they started a GoFundMe to help the school and a donation drive to help their classmates.
What was it like leaving home?
ivy When the fire came, he said it was “very, very scary.” Power is gone. Then the cat began to measure.
“My father said our house wouldn't catch fire,” Ivy said. “But I knew right before our house burned down because it looked like there was a fire right next to our backyard.”
kurtis Left his home in Atadena in the middle of the night with his mother, brother, and sister. He could see the fire growing and growing. Then they learned that their home was gone.
“I went back to sleep. I woke up. My whole life was shattered,” Kurtis said.
“I thought we were okay.”
However yasmin and alessandra The twins and teenagers reacted differently to the night of the Palisade fire. Alessandra cried. She packed baby photos and her perfume collection.
She also got clothes. “We share clothes most of the time even though she doesn't ask me and sometimes I don't ask her,” Alessandra said.
Yasmin brought things she thought everyone else would forget, like medicine and food. “And I brought my baby blanket and my baby stuffed elephant that I always had,” she said.
How is your day now?
ivy, ruby And their parents are with their grandparents in West Los Angeles. They like their houses to be large and have stairs.
“You can go down them and up, and I can even split them up,” Ruby said.
Kurtis and Kayla I'm doing school online. Their mom decided to keep them at home while she figured out where they would live. When Kurtis is not doing school work, he plays cards with his family and talks with friends on his tablet.
jet We are staying in a new home with donated furniture. His school remains closed and his mom is worried. He has autism and is doing well with the help of his teachers.
phoebe And her sisters have moved twice since their house burned down. And they know they have to move again. Abigail I wonder where they will go next.
How are you feeling?
kurtis I worry about all his family has lost.
“Everything is burning up,” he said. He wonders how his mom will replace soccer cleats and other sports equipment.
his sister, Kaylashe is shy and worried about having to go to a new school. “It's going to be awkward for me,” she said.
ivy and ruby I was excited about my 6th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese this weekend. There, they wanted to meet old school friends. And Ruby is looking forward to milestones at her new school.
jet Mom says he is 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 Miss driving to school with Alessandra and Yasmine and stopping at Starbucks on the way
“For the rest of our lives, we look forward to going to high school together,” Lily said. “That's just sad.”
remote learning reminds Abigail of the pandemic when she was in middle school. This time I feel sick. At that time, middle school students from all over the country were in the same boat.
“Because with Covid it was all of you, but now it’s one school,” she said.
What was special about your home and your school?
kurtis He will miss the home where he got to know his grandma. His grandparents bought it about 50 years ago after moving to California from Haiti.
phoebe Sometimes I walked to school by myself. Now she can't. She likes her new school, but it's not the same. “Their garden was so small and our garden was huge, so big,” she said.
At Paris High, lily Everyone says they knew each other. “I was only there for the semester, but it already feels like a second home to me,” she said.
ivy and ruby The school had a “weird 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 family was 99 years old. Their dad told them that there is magic from all the people who live there and can even grant their wishes.
“But it's dead, so we have to celebrate it,” Ruby said.
Did you bring anything?
phoebe and Abigail I didn't have time to grab much. Abigail, who loves to read, has only photographed two books, but has already completed them.
But they were able to get all the pets: a dog, two cats, a beta fish, a dwarf hamster, and a turbo turtle.
“I brought two stuffings.” ivy Said. “And we brought toothpaste and toothbrushes and we got blankets. We got some pillows. That's all I brought.”
ruby I brought a Barbie doll. However, she is sad because “our bunk slide was burnt down.”
kurtis I brought his school Chromebook and a tablet that he can use to talk to his friends.
“The crazy part was the trampoline was still standing,” Cultis said. “And if the trampoline is standing, I don't see why the house isn't.”
