Locals focused on rebuilding community torched by wildfires in Southern California
As flames torch the landscape in Southern California, some people are focusing on what comes next. Neighborhoods in the Pacific Palisades have been burned to ashes by the Palisades Fire. Containment is minimal, while debris, fallen trees, and power lines remain scattered about — posing a dangerous fire risk amid the Santa Ana winds.
Without skipping a beat, locals are already planning to rebuild.
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"In my wildest dreams, I would have never thought that what I’m seeing right now would have yielded from the phone call I got," said fourth-generation Palisidian Chuck Hart.
The second Hart heard about the fire, he and his team of contractors jumped headfirst into the front lines to protect their community.
"I’ve put water on fires before, but when they’re coming up a canyon with wind ripping and blowing hot embers and flames, and now hot steam, my eyes, my nose, my face…I mean, it’s intense," said Hart.
After fighting the flames, Hart and his team went directly into street clean up.
"I think more than anything, it’s the drive to get this cleaned up, get this underway so we can get up and down the streets," said Hart.
These efforts go far beyond Hart and his team.
"I think it’s easy. That’s just what we know to do. Like we don’t want to leave or be away from here…We want to be a part of building it back," said Palisidian Nicole Gyarmathy.
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Gyarmathy and Eli Johnson’s home burned down in the Palisades Fire. Without hesitation, they returned to the destruction immediately, ready to rebuild their community.
"I grew up here, and know that my dad grew up here and knowing that my grandparents, I mean this is where my roots are. And you protect that," said Johnson.
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That’s exactly what these Palisidians are going to do, as they take their efforts day by day.
"This is so brand new, we’re gonna start something we’ve never done before—one day at a time, it’s going to reveal itself, what our next indicated action is," said Gyarmathy.