by Eleisha Foon*
Fire damage at the Calvary Christian School. Photo: Supplied
A month after the devastating Los Angeles fires, hundreds of children and their displaced families - including African-American communities - are still sifting through the ashes of their former lives.
Dozens of schools are affected, with some completely destroyed, including Calvary Christian School, which was burned down in the Pacific Palisades fire.
School principal Vince Downey played a crucial role in ensuring the safety of hundreds of children by organising a "walking school bus" to Santa Monica Beach. The evacuation lasted from 11am until sunset, ensuring every child was safely reunited with their parents.
"It was very, very chaotic. Smoke and ash were getting in everyone's eyes!"
Downey and his staff guided all students and faculty to the beach, watching as the fire consumed their school and the surrounding areas.
"We have about 460 kids, ranging from age two to grade eight. I consider my faculty staff heroes. We had 15 staff members who lost everything-they didn't get to return to their homes or retrieve clothes, pictures, or passports because they were focused on handing off kids to parents and ensuring their safety first."
The Calvary Christian School during the fire. Photo: Supplied
His community remains in mourning. "142 of our families lost their homes and everything. I have fewer than 300 families, so over half of them lost everything, and another 50 or 60 have been displaced.
"This is where I play, work, and live - it's my whole community. I was just bawling in the car, seeing what looked like a war zone. It didn't look like a fire; it looked like bombs had been dropped on us. It's far worse in person."
Los Angeles is home to more than 3000 Kiwis, including Wellington native Dommy Ward, who moved to L.A. in 2019. She and her wife were visiting New Zealand in January when the fires broke out.
Although their house in Venice Beach was a neighbourhood away from the Palisades fire, they soon learned that two close friends had lost their homes in Altadena, a predominantly African-American neighbourhood.
"It was in that moment you realize you have no words-you don't know what to say to people you love who just lost everything other than, 'I am so incredibly sorry'. Then comes the survivors' guilt," she explained.
Dom Ward and wife Kaye. Photo: Supplied
They returned to their car and ash-covered porch, despite being miles away from any active fires.
"Los Angeles is a city people love to hate. While no place is perfect, so many incredible individuals, communities, and volunteers truly showed up-and will continue to show up. That's really beautiful," Ward said.
Principal Downey was "overwhelmed" by the outpouring of support. In addition to donations of school supplies and clothing, more than $300,000 has been raised to support affected families.
A car bonnet covered in ash from the Palisades fire. Photo: Supplied
Mosaic, a church with locations in Hollywood and South Pasadena, has been instrumental in relief efforts through its humanitarian outreach arm Mosaic Global. The organization mobilised more than 600 volunteers and raised more than $700,000 for fire relief victims.
Despite being displaced from their home during the Eaton fires, Mosaic South Pasadena Pastor Chad Brokaw and wife Yealee immediately sprang into action. The couple had to evacuate their Pasadena home with only the clothes on their backs, as flames threatened their neighbourhood.
"People are hurting, devastated, and affected by poor choices, bad management, lack of foresight, and lack of resources. We could sit around and wait for the government to help or be mad at the government. But we just have too much work to do-we have to act," said Yealee Brokaw.
"It was like a hurricane without the water-just really severe winds. Chad could see the flames from our backyard. We knew the fire could reach our house in no time. We were calling everyone we knew-neighbours, friends in Pasadena and Altadena-telling them, 'Hey, you need to get out'.
"We went to my mom's place, a few cities away, and we've been there ever since."
Every day, they continue to deploy teams. They are organising donation drives and co-ordinating with key leaders across LA to support those in need. Mosaic teams have also assisted with fire recovery efforts, providing "ash outs" - sifting through debris to recover anything of value for homeowners and renters.
"Each volunteer is a superhero. Seeing them in crisis has been humbling," Yealee remarked.
Focus has now turned to Altadena's African-American neighbourhoods and the additional crisis: the risk of land-grabbing. Six months before the fires, insurers had dropped fire coverage for many homeowners, leaving them with insurmountable damage and rebuilding costs estimated at $350,000 per square foot.
"My heart is breaking. I just hate it! There's so much land for sale - it's going to be a land grab if we don't do anything, if we don't talk about it.
They're going to build something else up there, even though these are majority African-American families who have lived there for generations. What happens to their land? Where do they go? It's a social justice issue!" said Chad Brokaw.
Principal Downey said their school was now running from offices until they can find a larger complex. But it has helped provide a sense of normalcy and play for their students.
He said it will take years to rebuild what the city of Los Angeles has lost, but one thing is for sure - the humanitarian response has reinstated hope in one of Hollywood's greatest times of need.
*Eleisha Foon is an award-winning international journalist, formerly RNZ, Newshub and Al Jazeera. She is a US and Pacific correspondent and full-time storyteller. She has worked as a broadcast journalist for more than eight years where she has been a presenter, producer, writer and filmmaker.
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