Camille Bryant, a sophomore marketing major from Altadena, California, was forced to evacuate her home as wildfires approached her neighborhood. With the flames spreading rapidly, Bryant and her family watched as the fire moved closer, aware that those flames would soon be spreading to their home.
Now back on campus in Washington, D.C., Bryant is adjusting to a new semester while grappling with the loss of her home.
A series of wildfires that began Jan. 7 have ravaged parts of Los Angeles County including the Pacific Palisades, Eaton and surrounding neighborhoods. According to NBC News, nearly 24,000 acres were burned within the Palisades fire, and a little over 14,000 in the Eaton fire, demolishing “entire neighborhoods and blocks.”
Many students like Bryant returned to class despite the tumultuous circumstances due to the fires. Now, they are all trying to navigate their situation of juggling both school and the reality of destruction back home.
Bryant, whose home burned to ashes, said she is still in shock.
“Right now, I don’t know. It’s just a lot to take in. I’m finally just realizing what happened,” she said. “It’s just kind of hard focusing in classes with [the] knowledge that your house isn’t there and having to worry about my family and them finding housing and how they’re doing and grappling with the fact that I can’t really help.”
Bryant expressed gratitude for the resources offered by the university to community members affected in a Jan. 11 email, including counseling services. She, however, feels the university could do more. She suggested free meals or reduced tuition to help students who may now face financial barriers.
Other than Bryant, students like Shania Taft, a sophomore journalism major and political science minor from Los Angeles, have friends and family who were affected by the fires.
“A lot of the people I did know, their houses were completely burned down,” she said. “The only thing that was left was their brick chimneys, [while others] had minor damage.”
Taft could smell the fire but didn’t fully understand the severity until she turned on the news and saw houses and animals affected. While wildfires are common in California, she said the speed and scale of this fire took many by surprise.
In response to the crisis, Taft has created a foundation called “Orange Skies” as a way to help those who have been affected. The foundation takes monetary and physical donations and then disperses them to those who have been affected by the fires.
Like Taft, Taylor Chastang, a junior biology major, chemistry minor from Los Angeles, and president of Howard’s California Students’ Association (CSA), also knew of people who were affected by the fires.
Several of her family friends stayed in the Pacific Palisades and lost their homes. She even recalled a high school that many of her friends attended, now no longer being able to open for students due to the damages caused by the fire.
Chastang and her mother immediately started helping when they learned about those who were affected and bought necessities.
“A lot of people will forget that when you lose your house and you have to find somewhere to stay. You don’t have things like pillows or things to cook with or blankets, so we went and got those items,” she said.
Chastang emphasized community when speaking on how to move forward after the fires.
“As far as moving on, it’s gonna take a couple of years,” she said. “But as far as help goes right now, I think the biggest point of community is what’s helping.”
Similar to Taft, Chastang was familiar with wildfires happening in California, but once she recognized and experienced the severity of what was happening she felt it was important to help.
“As it grew and as more people started reaching out and saying, ‘Hey, I lost everything.’ What do you say to that? It’s kind of just like a heart-stopping feeling, and you don’t know what to do, but you just wanna give them whatever you can,” she said.
The CSA has created an initiative called “West Coast Support” to raise money and give donations to the Los Angeles Mission, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help those experiencing homelessness.
They are also collaborating with HUSA’s community and external affairs along with Taft’s foundation, Orange Skies, to help their community back in California.
Copy edited by Camiryn Stepteau
