Fires in California: The LA Fires and the Gap Between Rich and Poor

Los City of Angels, City of Contrasts: The greater Los Angeles area, which has been hit by violent fires, is not just a city, but a world in itself. Luxury and misery exist side by side here – even in the face of the current fire disaster.

In normal everyday life, Los Angeles is the contrast between the luxury shopping mile Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and the Skid Row in downtown LA, known as a slum area, where tens of thousands of homeless people live. On the one hand, Los Angeles stands for Hollywood, glamour, celebrities and swank. On the other hand, LA has the second highest homelessness rate in the country. Huge wealth and abject poverty are close together. This contrast is now also leading to moral debates in view of the fire disaster.

Search for private firefighters

CNN reported on a real estate manager from LA who was looking for private firefighters via social media. “Pay any amount,” the broadcaster quoted from the now-deleted post. This sparked strong reactions on social media. “Whose house gets saved shouldn’t depend on their bank account,” CNN quoted a TikTok user as saying.

Thousands of buildings were destroyed or damaged by the fire. According to estimates, the damage and economic losses could run into the hundreds of billions. This is also because the flames are partly moving through neighborhoods where houses cost an average of several million dollars. The particularly affected district of Pacific Palisades is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in LA.

Criticism of the lawsuits of rich stars

There are also many celebrities among those affected who have commented on the fire disaster on social networks. Reality star Paris Hilton described having to watch from afar on television as her house in Malibu burned to the ground. Singer Bill Kaulitz documented in an Instagram story that he had to leave his house because of the fires. His packed luxury suitcases could be seen in the pictures.

Some users on the Internet are bothered by complaints from rich stars, some of whom have other places of residence and do not have to worry about their economic existence as a result of such a catastrophe. Actress and singer Mandy Moore, who lives in the suburb of Altadena, which was badly hit by the fire, received particular criticism. She showed pictures of her completely destroyed neighborhood on Instagram. Miraculously, most of her house is still standing, she wrote. She also shared a fundraising page for her brother-in-law and his family, which many criticized as hypocritical given the actress’s alleged wealth.

“The events are devastating, but natural disasters happen again and again, and they usually affect people who don’t have millions in the bank,” wrote an Instagram user under a post by Moore. The comment was liked hundreds of times.

Moore responded to the criticism with emotion. A friend started the fundraiser, she wrote. «And I share them because people have asked how they can help them. We also just lost most of our lives in a fire. So please fuck off. Nobody is forcing you to do anything.”

Other people’s worries

At the same time, new fates of ordinary citizens from the fire areas are becoming known every day. A large family lost several houses in the “Eaton Fire”. Eight of the Williams family’s uncles, aunts and cousins’ homes, within walking distance of each other, burned down completely. Now they all have no home and are currently staying in a hotel in Sherman Oaks, northwest of LA, where there are free rooms for those affected by the fires.

One of the women in the extended family told local station KTLA 5 News about the moment she saw her burned-down house for the first time: “It was just unbelievable. (…) You can’t even imagine that. “It felt like a war,” she said. “That was my house and the only thing left standing is my gate.”

In many places where the fire no longer burns, unbelieving people like her stand in front of the rubble of their houses, searching for remnants of their lives in mountains of ash and scrap. Some people do not lose their homes as a result of the fire, but rather their jobs or their economic livelihood because restaurants, cafés and shops are also destroyed.

Some have to worry about whether their insurance will cover the damage. As US media reports, some large providers had already limited insurance coverage in the areas now affected last spring due to the high risk of forest fires and withdrew it completely for certain new buildings. This means that some homeowners could find themselves without sufficient insurance coverage. Others have no insurance at all.

United in pain

But some also lose the most precious thing: loved ones. According to authorities, at least eleven people have died in the fire so far. The number could rise once destroyed areas are extensively searched. According to LA County police, 13 people were reported missing.

And here suddenly everyone is the same again in front of the fire. The pain of losing someone is the same for everyone – whether rich or poor. Likewise, the grief over lost memories in a home that cannot be compensated for with money.

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