People who lost their homes in fires need urgent financial help. One of them is Patricia. His money is starting to run out.
PASADENA Hundreds of victims of the Eaton fire in California have come to seek help outside an evacuation center in Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles. There is free food, guidance, and financial, physical, and emotional support.
About 1,200 people have been accommodated in Messukeskus and other public buildings. Some cry openly and hug each other. There are single parents, families with small children, elderly people in wheelchairs. Many have a dog under their arm or on a leash.
Employees of the United States Emergency Management Agency receive victims of the fire at the tables brought to the scene. The line of people in need of help stretches for a block.
“The house was my grandparents”
There is also a queue Patriciawho has lived for 23 years in Altadena, which was destroyed by the Eaton fire. It is also located northeast of Los Angeles, north of Pasadena. His home was on Lake Street, in a mostly black residential area that has been completely destroyed.
– My mother raised us all in the house where my grandparents also lived. They don’t exist anymore either. This is a difficult time, says Patricia.
The electricity went out in the house, and Patricia didn’t have time to take anything with her, not even photos, when the family had to evacuate a week ago on Tuesday.
– We found out the next day that there is nothing left of the house. It’s an emotionally draining time and I’ve been down, but I’m doing my best to move on.
“The rapid progress of the fire surprised me”
There are frequent wildfires around Pasadena, which have come close to Patricia’s family’s house in the past. Their rapid progress surprised me.
– I have never felt the heating of flames like now. At that point, the fire was still a few kilometers away from my home. I was amazed that it wiped out our community.
Altadena has a multicultural and diverse population, which forms a tight-knit community around Patricia’s home. The entire city has a little over 42,000 residents, 18 percent of whom are black.
Patricia has been living in the hotel for a week, but the money is starting to run out. He has not received any help, not even an answer from the insurance company.
– I have paid the insurance company for years, but now when I need something back, they don’t answer the phone. This is not right and I feel like I have been cheated and legally robbed, says Patricia.
For those who need help from the emergency agency
US Emergency Management Agency employee Laurie Sanchez says the situation is shocking and promises that Patricia will be helped.
– We arrange accommodation for the victims of the fire, we grant financial assistance to private people to repair the damage, rebuild and pay the rent. We also cooperate with the Red Cross and other charities, says Sanchez.
Sanchez talks to dozens of people during the day. Emotions are on the surface, so there is a need for more than just financial help.
– I just talked to a man who was left with nothing but the clothes he was wearing. His entire neighborhood has been destroyed, in addition to his and his friends’ houses. He’s still in shock, so I hugged him, says Sanchez.
Organizations are also helping
A celebrity chef by José Andrés Word Center Kitchen distributes free food portions in the square, and the organization also pays for food aid distributed by other restaurants.
Living in Altadena George rushes into line at the Pasadena Fire Department’s aid station. The fire department gives around 200 euros in money to all those who lost their homes.
– We were celebrating Russian Orthodox Christmas when suddenly we had to leave. Then everything had gone very quickly. This experience teaches you to keep your passport and other important documents close at hand and reminds you that the most important thing in life is not worldly mammon, but the people around you, says George.