Fires near Los Angeles | “The city no longer exists,” says a Quebecer living in Altadena

A car wreck. A gutted house. Debris still smoking. A substantially intact Halloween pumpkin, forgotten since the fall. This is all that remains of the house where Mathieu Fradet lived in Altadena, near Los Angeles. “The city no longer exists,” summarizes the Quebecer over the phone.

Faced with the arrival of flames rushing down the neighboring mountains, Mathieu Fradet and his wife only had time to take a bag, their passports and their dog, before fleeing on Tuesday evening.

“We left before they gave the order to evacuate. Ultimately, it was the right decision,” says the man who has worked for 10 years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA’s space research center in California.

Since then, Mr. Fradet has been staying with his in-laws.

On Thursday, the couple tried to return to the site, to see for themselves the state of their house. “We couldn’t go. The area is prohibited. But a firefighter friend sent us photos. That says it all,” says Mr. Fradet, a physics graduate from the University of Montreal who works as a microdevice engineer.

Mr. Fradet and his wife have been living in this new “dream house” since last year only. The couple had moved to Altadena for its clean air and proximity to the mountains and work. “We were able to enjoy it for six months,” he explains, still in shock.

Fortunately, he points out, he and his wife were tenants of the premises. “The owner is fantastic. She has already refunded my deposit, and January’s rent. »

Ashes falling from the sky

The Eaton fire, which ravaged the town of Altadena, was still entirely beyond the control of firefighters on Thursday afternoon. More than 1,500 firefighters were battling the flames, which have so far destroyed 4,000 to 5,000 structures.

Extremely violent fires continued to progress in Los Angeles. Fires remain out of control. “Unbreathable” air affects hundreds of thousands of people. In the city center, ashes fall from the sky.

More than 180,000 people are still evacuated.

Late Thursday evening, the official report showed seven dead in the fires, including a body found during the day by police in the rubble of a residence in Malibu.

Kristin Crowley, fire chief of the city of Los Angeles, indicated at a press briefing that the Palisades fire, the most devastating so far, had razed an area of ​​nearly 7,000 hectares, or 70 square kilometers or more of 13,000 football fields.

Fire containment was still at 0%.

“The fire is one of the largest in Los Angeles history,” Kristin Crowley said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said 20 people had been arrested for looting, a number likely to increase in the coming days.

Speaking to media in Washington, President Joe Biden said the federal government would cover 100% of the costs of several LA wildfire relief efforts for 180 days. “Things like debris and hazardous materials removal, temporary shelters, first responder salaries, whatever measures are necessary [seront couvertes] “, he assured.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau broadcast a message on X in which he noted that Canadian planes and crews are helping to fight the fires in California. “Help between neighbors,” he wrote, with a video showing a Canadair air tanker in action in Los Angeles.

Check out Justin Trudeau’s post on X

“It’s time for mutual aid”

Christian Lalonde, a Quebecer who lives in Burbank, north of Hollywood, believed he was safe since the fires started. But he quickly left his house with his partner around supper time on Wednesday when a blaze suddenly spread into the mountains near his home.

Taking a few possessions, Mr. Lalonde and his wife spent the night far from the fires, in Orange County, further south. Thursday evening, they were going to meet friends in Palm Spring, in the desert, east of Los Angeles. Their neighborhood has not been affected so far.

Philippe Bergeron, a Quebecer who has lived in the Los Angeles area for almost 40 years, said he saw the flames from his house.

“We are in the middle of four fires here. The nearest is about 15 km away. We see big smoke all the time. »

His Woodland Hills neighborhood was not under an evacuation order Thursday. But Mr. Bergeron and his family were ready to leave quickly.

“It’s time for mutual aid. A friend has been sleeping at home for two days. He lives in Malibu and has no internet or hot water. We offer our help, and we are constantly offered help. Everyone is affected by the fires in LA »

Finally, at the end of the day Thursday, Mr. Bergeron decided to leave with his wife to go to family in San Diego. “The flames are getting closer, we don’t want to take any chances,” he said on the phone.

As for Mathieu Fradet, the next step will consist of making, with his partner, an insurance claim for the property lost in the fire – essentially their entire possessions. “Then we’ll look for accommodation. It won’t be easy,” he comments.

With Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press