VIEWPOINT: You’re Lucky to Be Alive

                                                                      My husband cooked the turkey this Thanksgiving.

My husband looks through a window at the remains of his fire-resilient home.

“You’re lucky to be alive,” is what people are told who survived the Palisades/Eaton fires.

That isn’t the correct response to our questions.

One question we ask, “How did you allow everything to burn in Pacific Palisades?” An arsonist was found for the January 1 Lachman fire, but no one has accepted blame for the January 7 fire. The previous fire site had not been monitored, although every Scout knows “ensure campfires are completely cold-out. Do a test on cooled ash for any sign of heat before you consider the fire extinguished.”

Despite it being a red-flag day, the initial response from the City was limited and outside sources were not immediately called. The command site changed three times, no one seemed to be in charge, firefighters had problems with radio frequencies, there were no police to aid in evacuations, there was no water in the reservoirs, DWP did not turn off the electricity, which most likely sparked subsequent fires, and no brush clearance had been done.  Instead of telling me “I’m lucky to be alive,” tell me why the City/County/State isn’t held responsible? click here.

Another question we ask, “how do I replace family heirlooms that had been handed down for generations?”

The response, “You’re lucky to be alive,” discounts everything of value that people needlessly lost.  I can never get my children’s baby books back, where I carefully recorded they took their first steps and their first sentences.

“You’re lucky to be alive,” you tell us. But insurance is not paying, even after one has had to list every possession in your home. Insurance asks for receipts (burned), they ask for photos (burned). One person had coincidentally taped all their household items in December and presented the video to insurance. It didn’t count because there were no receipts.

One would think that California Governor Gavin Newsom would tell insurance companies to pay people, especially since California wrecked the insurance market. People paid their premiums in good faith and now insurance companies are sitting on that money, collecting interest, rather than paying out.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are approaching. For those who say, “You’re lucky to be alive,” you will continue your traditions, probably in a home, surrounded by family, at a beautifully decorated dining room table.

We “lucky” people are trying to figure out how to house adult children, kids and dogs in our “new” apartment – with a kitchen designed for people who live on take out.

Our family tradition was to cook together, and then in the afternoon, we would sit outside on our patio in Pacific Palisades, using the beautiful China and linens that had been handed down for generations. Before we ate, each person said for what they were most thankful.

So, Governor Gavin Newsom, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, when you sit down for Thanksgiving Dinner, bless yourself for allowing so much to be taken away from so many.  You can blame the arsonist for the Lachman fire, but the Palisades Fire is on you.

And please don’t excuse the devastation and the loss with the platitude, “You’re lucky to be alive.”