HomeSurviving LA’s Wildfire: Bryce’s Story
Facing LA’s wildfires, Bryce had an impossible choice: stay or flee? Hear their firsthand account of surviving the blaze, grappling with the decision to stay, and facing financial hardship. A story of living through a climate disaster and the resulting deep-seated uncertainty about the future.
“I had to ask my family to help me make rent…there was a natural disaster – I couldn’t work.”
Another challenge: As a renter earning a living in freelance film production, Bryce did not have sufficient savings to relocate farther from the fires. On average, renters are younger, more racially diverse, and earn lower incomes than homeowners – just 13% of renters are considered Financially Healthy, compared with 42% of homeowners. Instead, Bryce decided to stay put. Hardly leaving home for three weeks, they stocked up on food for the one-bedroom apartment they share with their cat, Clover, and slept on the living room couch, which was closest to the exit in case they needed to run.
In total, roughly 180,000 people were under evacuation orders during the fires in Los Angeles County, with tens of thousands temporarily or permanently displaced. Though Bryce feels lucky that they never had to leave, the climate disaster – a series of 14 fires with 100 mile-per-hour winds that burned nearly 89 square miles of land and 18,000 structures – left them with lasting financial and psychological scars.
Here’s their story.
It was intense preparation. Living in Los Angeles, I already had an earthquake bag with food and different supplies ready, but then I started to pack up anything that was more sentimental. I didn’t want to have to scurry for it in a rush. I packed Christmas ornaments and other family heirlooms, because you can’t really replace them, along with important documents and photographs. It helped reframe what in my life is actually meaningful to me.
I also got my disaster prep bags out of the closet, just to have those available. So many people were looking at climate apps, and everyone was monitoring and getting notifications about the fires. For about two weeks, I was just really tracking that and seeing what the growth was like.
When the fires got closer, I was afraid to leave my apartment. I became kind of a shut-in because I didn’t want to let any more of the bad air in than already was coming in. The fact that I was alone only compounded my anxiety; the environment of Los Angeles was not very habitable for a very long time. I was wearing intense KN95 masks outside for like a month.
A MacGyver friend made an air purifier for me. I did not have one, and that was a big concern because the cheapest ones were around $60, which was not a small fee for me, considering I had lost days of work.
I moved out to Los Angeles in my last semester of college. I studied screenwriting and originally wanted to be a TV writer. It’s a rough gig. Most recently, I do more development and production for feature films. The work I do is on a freelance basis, so when I lost days of work during and after the fires, it was really impactful.
I just had to try to find other sources of income, but it was difficult. Eventually, I had to ask my family to help me make rent that month. It was not a very easy thing to go about doing. They were thankfully understanding. There was a natural disaster – I couldn’t work.
My approach toward my whole life changed in regard to where I live and how I live. This is not the first time I’ve dealt with fires in Los Angeles, but this time changed a lot about how I view the longevity of living in this city. I would be driving down the 405 and see on both sides of me that hills are on fire. I was safe this time, but who says it’s always going to be that way?
“I don’t know if I will ever feel comfortable living anywhere that isn’t just concrete and pavement.”
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