My plans changed just days after buying a plane ticket, with the Eaton and Palisades fires tearing through communities in Los Angeles County.
As crews work to contain those fires, communities in Los Angeles are stepping up to help victims and prevent the spread of new flames.
I went to a hub for many of the volunteers at the Pasadena Community Jobs Center, which had gone viral for groups of volunteers called the “fire brigades.” They are clearing debris that could spread flames around the affected areas of the Eaton Fire. Others are collecting and distributing supplies to those affected by the blazes.
“The fire brigades happen every day, and what we do is like a second responder, which is what our immigrants normally do. They’re going around Pasadena and Altadena, and they are clearing the debris from the winds,” said Palmira Figueroa with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, a labor group whose mission is to support immigrant and low-wage workers.
“That has been organized for the 10 days since the beginning of the fires. Now we have about 1,000 volunteers coming almost every day,” Figueroa told me on Jan. 19 as hundreds of residents filled the parking lot of the center and lined the block in their cars to pick up necessities like food, water, clothing, diapers and pet supplies.
I went back to the job center on Monday for a Martin Luther King Day service for the volunteers, where the band Los Jornaleros del Norte performed and organizers spoke before fire brigades took off to clean more debris.
After the service, I traveled with a fire brigade volunteer group made up of people from surrounding communities, day laborers, and a church group to a residential street in Pasadena. Work began immediately as the area was under a red-flag warning with warm weather, strong winds and low humidity, which increases the risk of fires starting and spreading.
Shovels, rakes and saws were brought out to gather yard waste, branches and flammable material into trash cans to be loaded onto a waiting truck.
I spent the rest of the day walking through a small portion of devastation left by the fires. After going through checkpoints staffed by National Guard troops, I walked the streets in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades, where the ruins of homes, churches and businesses stood. Firefighters inspected what was left of structures and cleared debris while utility workers were in the early stages of returning power to the areas.
After I saw the fires before I left Tulsa, I knew I was going to take photos. I tried not to focus only on what was lost. I also wanted to show the community’s response.
