For days the raging fires have caused devastation to lives and homes; here are some reactions from those on social media.
There’s no escaping the news coming out of California right now: there are several fires raging around the Los Angeles area, impacting the Pacific Palisades, Eaton, Hollywood, Altadena areas, among others. Emergency responders from all over California and other states are doing their best to contain what looks to be an uncontainable situation, while the nation watches and hopes for the safety of all those impacted and anxiously awaits an end to the calamity.
While traditional media outlets are doing everything they can to cover the wildfires in Los Angeles, residents, from all walks of life have been documenting the impact of the fires on their lives and that of their families, lending a first hand account from social media posts that has a very personal, one-on-one account of the tragedy as it unfolds.
Celebrity DJ and COVID-era hero, D-Nice, shared via Instagram that he and his family had to evacuate their homes.
“It’s truly heartbreaking out here in Los Angeles. I’m sharing this from my roof deck, witnessing the devastation around us. My family and I had to evacuate, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by these wildfires. We’re praying for safety and strength for all those impacted during this difficult time,” wrote the hip-hop legend.
In reply to D-Nice’s post, R&B singer Tracie Spencer, best known for her hit single “Tender Kisses,” shared that she also had to evacuate, as did Emmy-nominated musician, Michael Bearden, stating, “It feels so dystopian out here. I had to evacuate as well. Hoping for the best possible outcome for everyone! This is a time for united, shared humanity!”
Activist and public speaker Dr. David Johns, who grew up in Los Angeles, shared video from inside the high school he attended, Palsidades Charter High School, sharing of the impact of seeing a place so close to his heart engulfed in flames: “These images of my high school, the community where so many of my maturation memories were made burn to the ground have been seared into me.” Along with his personal reflections, he also shared information about what can be done during this time.
Actor and philanthropist Holly Robinson Peete asked for the support and love for Los Angeles from those seeing the devastation from outside the area. “Los Angeles needs love and prayers right now. We need compassion and community… there are too many families-that we know personally who have lost their homes and/ or businesses and there is still no way to contain this fire until the wind stops.”
Celebrities are obviously not the only people impacted; one search of many hashtags associated with the fires in Los Angeles returns tons of visuals and individual stories of people documenting their day-to-day lives as well as their evacuation from the area while asking for prayers and support for all those in need. The entire situation is surreal.
On a personal level, I (along with most people I know) have family and friends who have been impacted by the fires. Family friends have lost their homes; I have a sister and brother who live in the area. I have too many friends who live in the immediate vicinity of the fires who are sharing their own evacuation stories, all from a safe place, though their property has been lost. It’s so hard to comprehend from thousands of miles away on the East Coast.
The imagery and stories are heart-breaking and seem like something out of a dystopian novel or film set in the very place that’s currently on fire. While I usually think the platitude of “thoughts and prayers” is useless, for many of us, that’s all we truly have to give at this time from so far away. It seems unreal, but parts of one of America’s biggest cities, both in population and size, is being impacted by one of things that could level it all which is scary. I am forever thankful for all who do the work of responding to catastrophic circumstances.
We can only hope that it all comes to an end. Sooner, would be better, but prayerfully, an end.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).
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