thousands of victims looking for accommodation

Back home in Los Angeles, for the first time since the fire, Stéphane struggles to find the words. Haggard, he surveys the ruins of his house: “She trembles”he confides, while he inspects the rubble. It is difficult to recognize this house where he had lived for 14 years with his wife and two children. “These are our wedding plates”he comments, picking up shards of porcelain. A few meters away, almost nothing remains of the basketball hoop where he played with his son.

The family has been staying with a couple of friends since the fire. A temporary situation from which Stéphane and his wife would like to get out of as quickly as possible. But over the past week, housing prices have soared. “$10,000 a month for a three-bedroom apartment”his wife is surprised. A sum which represents 50% more than their previous rent, and which is only the starting price. The middle-class family will have to resolve to leave Los Angeles, where their son Émile grew up.

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