All they could grab were stuffed animals, toothbrushes, Barbie dolls and blankets. Their bunk beds, cleats and clothes burned with their houses.
The New York Times interviewed 10 children and their parents about what it was like to flee the fires in Los Angeles. They talked about what they are worried about, and what is helping them feel better.
Ivy and Ruby Van Kline are twin sisters who just turned 6 this week. They are in kindergarten at Aveson School of Leaders, a charter school in Altadena, Calif. Their house and school both burned down, so the family moved in with their grandparents.
Jet Crawford, 6, was also in kindergarten at Aveson. He is living in a new house with his mom and his sister, Ilana, 3, after their house in Altadena burned. Their new town is about 20 minutes away from home.
Kurtis Odom, 9, is in fourth grade at McKinley School of the Arts in Pasadena, Calif. His sister, Kayla Odom, is 12 and in middle school. They are living in a vacation rental after their house burned down, and doing school online.
Phoebe Hanelin, 10, is also in fourth grade. Her school, Marquez Charter Elementary, burned down in the Palisades fire. Her home, which was just across the street, is gone. Phoebe’s older sister, Abigail Hanelin, is a sophomore at Palisades Charter High School. Part of her school burned, and now all their classes are online.
Lily Yadegar, Alessandra Santini and Yasmine Santini are friends who also go to Pali High. Lily is 14. Alessandra and Yasmine, both 17, are twins.
Their homes survived, but they spent more than a week evacuated, staying in hotels and rented houses. The three girls wanted to do something for their friends and neighbors, so they started a GoFundMe to help rebuild their school and a donation drive to help their classmates.
What was it like leaving home?
Ivy said it was “very, very scary” when the fire came. The power went out. Then the cats started meowing.
“My dad said that our house wouldn’t burn on fire,” Ivy said. “But I just knew right before our house would go on fire, because it looked like the fire was, like, right next to our backyard.”
Kurtis left his house in Altadena in the middle of the night with his mom, older brother and older sister. He could see the fire getting bigger and bigger. Later, they learned that their house was gone.
“I went back to sleep. I woke up. My whole life broke,” Kurtis said.
“I thought we were going to be OK.”
Though Yasmine and Alessandra are twins, the teens responded differently the night of the Palisades fire. Alessandra cried. She packed baby photos and her perfume collection.
She also got the clothes. “We share our clothes majority of the time, even though she doesn’t ask me, and sometimes I don’t ask her,” Alessandra said.
Yasmine brought stuff she thought everyone else would forget about, like medicine and food. “And then I brought my baby blanket and my baby stuffed elephant that I’ve always had,” she said.
What are your days like right now?
Ivy, Ruby and their parents are staying with their grandparents in West Los Angeles. They like that the house is big and has stairs.
“You can go down them and up them, and I could even do splits down them,” Ruby said.
Kurtis and Kayla are doing school online. Their mom decided to keep them home while she figures out where they are going to live. When Kurtis isn’t doing school work, he plays cards with his family and talks to his friends on his tablet.
Jet is staying in a new house with donated furniture. His school remains closed, and his mom is worried. He has autism and had been doing well with the help of his teachers.
Phoebe and her sisters have moved twice since their house burned down. And they know they’re going to have to move again. Abigail is worried about where they’ll go next.
How are you feeling?
Kurtis worries about everything his family lost.
“Everything is burned down,” he said. He wonders how his mom can afford to replace his soccer cleats and other sports equipment.
His sister, Kayla, says she is shy and worries that she might have to go to a new school. “It’s just going to be awkward for me,” she said.
Ivy and Ruby were excited about their 6th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese this weekend, where they hoped to see friends from their old school. And Ruby is looking ahead to a milestone at her new school: “Going outside in the big kid area when I’m a big kid and going on the monkey bars.”
Jet’s mom says he has been 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. “Mommy’s house.”
Lily misses driving to school with Alessandra and Yasmine, and stopping at Starbucks along the way.
“Our whole lives, we’ve been looking forward to going to high school together,” Lily said. “It’s just sad.”
Remote learning reminds Abigail of the pandemic, when she was in middle school. This time, it feels worse. Back then, middle schoolers all across the country were in the same boat.
“It was fine in Covid because it was everybody. But now it’s just one school,” she said.
What was special about your home and your school?
Kurtis will miss the house where he got to know his grandma. His grandparents bought it about 50 years ago after moving to California from Haiti.
Phoebe used to walk to school by herself sometimes. Now she can’t. She likes her new school, but it’s not the same. “Their yard is so small, our yard was giant, so big,” she said.
At Pali High, Lily says everyone knew each other. “I’ve only been there for a semester, and it already feels like a second home to me,” she said.
Ivy and Ruby’s school had a “ginormous playground,” a garden, chickens named Sunshine and Marshmallow and a rabbit named Mr. Fluff.
“I don’t know if they brought the chickens or the bunny,” Ivy said.
Ivy and Ruby’s house was 99 years old. Their dad told them that it had magic from all the people who had lived there and could even grant their wishes.
“But it died, so we have to celebrate it,” Ruby said.
Did you bring anything with you?
Phoebe and Abigail didn’t have time to grab much. Abigail, who loves to read, took only two books and has already finished them.
But they were able to get all their pets: a dog, two cats, a beta fish, a dwarf hamster and Turbo the tortoise.
“I only brought two stuffies,” Ivy said. “And we brought our toothpaste and toothbrushes and we got our blankets, and we got some of our pillows, and that’s all I brought.”
Ruby brought Barbie dolls. But she is sad because “my bunk bed slide that was ours burned down.”
Kurtis brought his school Chromebook and a tablet he can use to talk to his friends.
“The crazy part is that the trampoline was still standing,” Kurtis said. “And you know what, if the trampoline is standing, I don’t know why the house ain’t standing.”
