“It’s the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s like a war zone,” this 39-year-old photographer told AFP, in the middle of the ruins of this upscale neighborhood of Los Angeles.
This tortured landscape, where all landmarks are erased, reopens buried wounds.
“I will probably go back to therapy,” breathes this former alcoholic, sober for six years.
For the past week, the former volunteer firefighter has gone out of his way to help his community.
Armed with a water pump and a chainsaw, he first tried to save his parents’ house, in vain, before fighting against the spread of embers in the neighborhood. Then, he delivered food and air filters to elderly people who had not been evacuated. Hours of sleep were rare.
“I think I’ve reached my limit,” he says, misty-eyed, in his pick-up covered in the pink fire retardant dropped by the planes. “I’ve kind of awakened a dormant beast inside me, and I’m going to have to be very careful.”
-A former counselor in a detoxification clinic, this Californian has seen enough firefighters and police officers pass by to distrust himself.
Some firefighters had to fight the flames with the means at hand, due to dry fire hydrants. Thousands of people saw their homes reduced to ashes.
And even when their house is spared from the flames, some survivors break down in tears, devastated by the loss of their neighborhood life.
These destructive fires are also likely to affect audiences who are often forgotten, according to psychotherapist Sonnet Daymont. Like teenagers, glued to dramatic images repeated over and over on social networks, or neighbors outside disaster areas.
“Survivor’s guilt and vicarious trauma exist,” she insists in her Pasadena office, where she offers free sessions to survivors.
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