when the smoke clears: what LA’s wildfire survivors want you to know—and what they still need
“There’s not even a word created for it,” said 11-year-old Ceiba Phillips after the Altadena fire destroyed the backyard ADU where his grandparents lived—just steps behind his own home. “It’s sad, it’s heavy, somewhat angry. Why did this have to happen?”
From Altadena to Pacific Palisades, the 2025 Los Angeles fires erased entire neighborhoods, schools, and businesses in hours. More than 37,000 acres gone—an area equivalent to 28,000 baseball fields. At least 30 lives lost. Families scattered.
Survivors say it feels like a warzone. Scorched walls stand where birthdays were once celebrated; memories made, where life once lived.
Even as smoke swallowed skylines, something else took root—a fierce, defiant togetherness. Across LA, neighbors became lifelines. Volunteers stepped up. Resilience, faith, and hope grew where the fires hit hardest.
“It was a true act of love,” said 83-year-old Sarah Purkart, who lost her longtime Pacific Palisades home. “(My neighbor Carla) came over to check on me because I live alone and she helped me start getting ready… she went to check on her family, then she came back to help me.”
And while the flames have quieted, the aftermath still burns—and communities are navigating the fallout with indelible strength.
“I hope that people in Southern California don’t forget about us evacuees now that the fires are fully extinguished and there are other pressing news stories on the agenda,” commented Diana Daniele, who lost her Pacific Palisades home.
This is what they want the rest of us to remember.
One Disaster, a Thousand Journeys–Why Recovery Looks Different for Everyone
"Our home wasn't just a structure. It was a place of peace, love, forgiveness, celebration and a testament to years of hard work,” said Cynthia Perello, who lost her house in Altadena. “It was built on decades of sacrifice.”
Some had called their homes their own for generations. Others, like Chris Wilson and his pregnant wife, had only just unpacked.
“It changes the whole trajectory of your life,” Wilson said. Starting over, he explained, is about rebuilding meaning from the ground up.
For many, that’s out of reach. Homeowners who bought when prices were lower now face soaring construction costs that far exceed insurance payouts. People like 66-year-old Karen Myles have already made their decision.
"I'm not going to rebuild. Oh no. Hell no... the fire left me no choice."
And for renters and those in informal housing—converted garages, backyard ADUs, shared spaces—the safety net rarely holds. Disaster aid often stops at the deed. If your name isn’t on the mortgage, the system leaves you behind.
The economic scars run deep. The Los Angeles wildfires led to more than $297 million in lost wages, a UCLA Anderson Forecast found. Rent prices are spiking. Insurance premiums are soaring. And low-income families—already stretched thin—are being pushed to the edge.
Wildfires scorched what little stability many had left. Listings dried up. For hourly workers, immigrant laborers, and families living paycheck to paycheck, the search for a safe, affordable home has become a full-time job. Fires are driving LA’s already unaffordable housing market closer to collapse, leaving those with the fewest options at the greatest risk.
While the fires left behind layers of loss, they also sent far-reaching ripples of hope—moments of community healing and strength.
“I never lost hope in my community. But today was just a new spark for me that God was just there,” said LaToya Carr, speaking at Dena Love Day—a grassroots event organized weeks after the Eaton fire. “Y’all was loving on each other, working together to make things happen for other people. And that's a big deal."
When the Smoke Clears, the Grief Remains
Mental health is often the quietest casualty after disaster. The grief. The disorientation. The pressure to hold it all together while everything around you falls apart.
"There’s some good days and bad days," said Rochele, whose family lost their home in the Eaton Fire. “I try to stick around, to scream the joy, and to remind (my parents) that there are moments to enjoy.”
Mental health support is often missing in disaster response. Black communities face significantly higher rates of PTSD and depression after climate disasters—a pattern documented by researchers from the University of Florida, the Medical University of South Carolina, and Harvard. This kind of sustained stress shortens lives.
PTSD rates among California’s 2018 Camp Fire survivors are on par with those of combat veterans, a University of California–San Diego study found. That trauma doesn’t just fade. It lingers in sleepless nights, in sudden tears, in the uncertainty of where to live next.
And it rarely travels alone. It comes tangled with financial strain, unstable housing, and systems ill-prepared to catch people when they fall.
For many, that instability means couch-surfing, living in hotels, or splitting families across temporary housing. The lack of secure shelter becomes a daily trauma of its own.
Children carry it, too. After the January Eaton Fire displaced around 700,000 students, families reported emotional shifts—outbursts, slipping grades, and quiet retreat.
"She has days where she just isolates herself and doesn’t want to talk to anybody,” said Juan Carlos Perez of his sixth-grade daughter.
"It was as if he became a teenager overnight… He’s not making the association between his behavior and the trauma of the move,” added Veena Fox Parekh, describing her son.
What Do Survivors Need Now?
Survivors need a path forward. Long-term recovery is where the real work begins. This includes:
Affordable, accessible housing—stable homes people can rebuild their lives in.
Mental health support and trauma-informed care—because healing is long-term.
Rebuilding assistance tailored to underresourced populations—not one-size-fits-all policies.
Policies that acknowledge structural inequities—and correct them.
Plans shaped by the people living through it—not just for the community, but by the community.
Why This Matters Beyond LA
Climate change is prolonging the wildfire season. It’s fueling more frequent, more destructive fires, according to the EPA. The 2025 fires won’t be the last.
How we respond now matters—not just for Los Angeles but for every city watching. Recovery is about reimagining who gets helped. How fast. And with what kind of dignity.
Help Us Build the Future Survivors Deserve
At Lotus Rising LA, we’re working to help survivors reclaim a sense of home.
Once fully launched, we’ll help families recover through fast-tracked, fire-resistant prefab housing, sustainable design, furnished living spaces, trauma-informed mental health care, and deep-rooted community partnerships. We're here, and we're listening.
Want to help make our vision a reality? Start here:
Share this story. Someone in your circle needs to hear it.
Donate. Your support can help a family move from survival to stability.
Stay connected. Follow us as we grow—and help shape what comes next.
Nonprofits like ours are poised to help recovery move faster. While we’re not providing services just yet, we’re laying the foundation. When it’s community-led, it moves with purpose—and it lasts.
References
Batema, Cara. (2025, April 1). The reality of rebuilding after a wildfire. Lotus Rising LA.
Bacher, D., & Chiu, D. (2025, January 10). Neighbor's 'act of love' saved 83-year-old from raging L.A. fires: 'She came back to help me' (Exclusive). People.
CBS News. (2025, February 5). Los Angeles wildfire victims' rebuilding options vary wildly among neighbors due to insurance crisis https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-insurance-crisis-la-wildfires/
Davidson, T. M. et al. (2013). Disaster impact across cultural groups: Comparison of Whites, African Americans, and Latinos. American Journal of Community Psychology, 52(1–2), 97–105.
Deng, J. (2025, February 8). Black Altadenans seek hope and resilience in the wake of the LA wildfires. NPR.
Ding, Jaimie.. (2025, February 21). Parents and kids navigate talks of loss and tragedy as they return home after LA area fires. Associated Press.
Goodman, R. D., & West-Olatunji, C. A. (2008). Traumatic stress, systemic oppression, and resilience in post-Katrina New Orleans. Spaces for Difference: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 1(2), 51–68.
Henderson, P. & Terhune, C. (2025, January 19). L.A. fire victims fear rebuilding ordeal; some will not do it. WTVBAM.
Lane, C. & Epstein, E.(2025, March 5). SoCal wildfire survivors: ‘Don’t forget about us’. LA Parent.
Li, Z. and Yu, W. (2025, March 3). Economic impact of Los Angeles wildfires. UCLA Anderson Forecast.
Mahoney, Adam. (2025, March 21). After losing everything in the Eaton Fire, a family holds onto joy. High Country News.
Raker, E. J., et al. (2019). Twelve years later: The long-term mental health consequences of Hurricane Katrina. Social Science & Medicine, 242, 112610.
Sayles, Megan. (2025, February 12). The road to recovery: Altadena families struggle to rebuild after devastating wildfires. Afro News.
Silveira, S. et al.. (2021). Chronic Mental Health Sequelae of Climate Change Extremes: A Case Study of the Deadliest Californian Wildfire. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1487.
Wang, C. (2025, April 3). Both her home and school burned down during the LA fires. She’s just one of 700,000 uprooted kids. The Guardian.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Climate change indicators: Wildfires. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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