Burman, who has lived in the coastal community for 14 years, is among many who are under mandatory evacuation orders. As of Thursday afternoon, the city of Santa Monica had imposed a dawn-to-dusk curfew to help support law enforcement efforts in the area bordering the Palisades Fire.
In his haste to evacuate, Burman left his cell phone in his apartment. A small flashlight and flashlight were among the only items he brought with him, and he carried them in a black insulated bag.
The centers have become shelters for many people whose lives have been upended by the unprecedented fires that continue to ravage the Los Angeles area. With continued uncertainty and more winds expected in the forecast, the spaces have provided respite for people who had nowhere else to turn, including some who lost everything.
Along with the influx of people came support volunteers, many of whom donated items or offered assistance to Red Cross employees already stationed there.
The fierce bushfires, sparked by dry conditions and strong winds, have killed at least five people and forced almost 180,000 more from their homes.
“It’s hard to watch, because there’s a lot of pain and suffering,” said Jay Gutovich, 37, of West Los Angeles, who stopped by the shelter to donate children’s toys (Legos, Hot Wheels, “anything we could get our hands on”). ) that you chose. at Target.
“And there’s a tendency to politicize, when really the focus should be on helping people right now, and we can figure out the other things later,” Gutovich said. “I think it’s important that we take advantage of these opportunities to be there for each other, because we are all on the same team. How can we work together as a community to build the Los Angeles we collectively want?
The Westwood dormitory area was sparsely populated Thursday morning, as many of the shelter’s residents leave during the day to meet with friends or seek solace in places like coffee shops. Many of the residents still have jobs to go to, including one person who hurried out of the building with a coffee, adding that he couldn’t chat because he was late for work.
Some shelter residents walked with everything they could carry strapped to their backs, along with an extra wheeled bag or two. A Santa Monica woman said she took all of her photo albums and threw them in a container she brought with her when she evacuated.
Another Santa Monica resident, Svetlana Sornekova, 88, fed her little puppy pieces of chicken in a plastic foam container. Around them, other residents of the temporary shelter walked their dogs, the only loved ones they took with them when they evacuated.
Throughout the morning, center volunteers unloaded supplies from trucks and carried them into the building. Residents outside evacuation zones have also arrived hoping to help, to the point that some volunteers and supplies have been turned away or redirected to other shelters.
Nicole Maul, Red Cross spokesperson at the site, said there has been no shortage of goodwill amid the tragedy, even from those experiencing their own horrors.
“We have had volunteers who have also been evacuated. We have volunteers who have unfortunately lost their homes. But they have told me over and over again that they want to introduce themselves to their neighbors,” Maul said. “And that makes my heart race a little bit: for someone who is potentially going through so much to say, ‘You know what? I want to be here. I know I have the skills to help other people.’”
