WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.399 You're listening to KFI AM six forty on. 2 00:00:03.319 --> 00:00:14.439 Demand, KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 3 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:17.839 I'm Michael Monks from KFI News. This is La Fires, 4 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:21.480 A Path Forward, our special presentation on the wildfires. What 5 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:25.160 happened and what happens now. It's not even been six 6 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:29.079 weeks since we first told you something dangerous was brewing. 7 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:33.240 We got reports out of the Santa Monica area. We've 8 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:36.880 got a brush fire in the Palisades Highlands right now. 9 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:40.119 You can see this smoke. Not sure about the size 10 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:43.000 of this baby. They're usually quick to step to those 11 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:44.560 there near the Palisades. 12 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:46.920 The warnings had come days in advance. The National Weather 13 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:49.840 Service told us major Santa Ana winds were coming. A 14 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:52.359 lack of rain for many months had left things dry 15 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:55.920 and ripe for destruction. And that's what happened. Has heard 16 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:58.560 on kfi's Gary and Shannon as it unfolded. 17 00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:02.039 We now have a fire, Palisades fire is what they're 18 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:02.560 calling it. 19 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:05.359 It started small in the Palisades, but with the conditions, 20 00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:07.519 the fire was poised to grow quickly. 21 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:11.359 This thing is living up to its potential, they say. 22 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:15.159 Right now, the crews on the ground are furiously engaged 23 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:16.719 in structure protection. 24 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:17.680 And then it grew even more. 25 00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:20.719 The latest is that they're seeing spotting ahead of this 26 00:01:20.840 --> 00:01:24.200 thing a mile to three quarters of a mile out, 27 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:28.480 which was the absolute fear. When you're thinking about the 28 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:30.920 winds and the gusts that are coming with this wind event, 29 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:33.959 that'll take a fire and carry it and keep carrying it. 30 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:38.079 Well, and that's well. I mean there's a couple thousand 31 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:41.079 homes well within that range. Eyewitnesses started to call in 32 00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:42.200 with what they were seeing. 33 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:46.680 Caesar works at sunset smash and joins us. Now, Caesar 34 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:48.200 crazy over there right now. 35 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:51.920 I bet it is very concerning at this point because 36 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:55.799 there's black smoke. It seems like there's still in the area, 37 00:01:55.959 --> 00:01:58.920 and everyone out of here is just concern about what 38 00:01:59.000 --> 00:01:59.920 was going on taking fiction. 39 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:02.599 By the time that John Colebelt Show came on the air, 40 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:04.480 homes in the Palisades were burning. 41 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:10.199 Pacific Palisades is on fire. I'm looking at several television 42 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:16.560 news feeds and they have different homes burning on different stations. 43 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:20.840 I see one home just starting to burn. There's a 44 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:25.080 wall of flames in the backyard, wall of flames in 45 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:27.719 the backyard of the neighbor's house, and then the. 46 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:31.039 Terror of it all became real as residents started to flee, 47 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:32.280 clogging streets. 48 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:34.759 We're going to talk to a woman now who's trying 49 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:40.759 to get out of the Palisades Kelly. Are you there, Kelly, Yes, 50 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:42.840 can you hear me? Yeah? Thanks for coming on. 51 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.080 Oh yeah, no problem. Right now, I'm on Sunset and 52 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:52.159 Palisades Drive and it's completely you can't even move. And 53 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:58.159 as I'm sitting here on the corner of Palisade Drive, 54 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:01.080 there's a palm tree on fire, so like we're kind 55 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:04.719 of all sitting here in the car and watching. I 56 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:06.800 mean it's like fifty feet away. 57 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:10.800 I think, oh, that's that's really frightening. 58 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:13.719 It's really frightening. It's really really. 59 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:17.080 Frightening, and you can't get away from it, no. 60 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:19.199 Because we we're locked in. It's kind of like, you know, 61 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:23.479 we see those terrible movies where everybody's running from something 62 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:24.879 and all the cars are stuck. 63 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:25.919 That's kind of how it is. 64 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:28.439 Yeah, Oh my gosh, Yeah, this tree is really. 65 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:32.680 It's on the corner or on the in the median. 66 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:38.840 On Palisades Drive and Sunset directly on the corner, there's 67 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:41.080 a and I don't know if you can hear all 68 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:41.759 the honkings. 69 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:45.599 I can. Yeah, I saw on TV there was a 70 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:47.919 palm tree in the median that was. 71 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:50.479 Yeah, it's right now. I just I just don't know, 72 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:59.400 Like people are getting out of their cars now, what 73 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:06.000 if you think, yes, yes, all. 74 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:09.479 Right, go okay okay, Oh my god, that's terrifying. 75 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:11.680 The Mo Kelly Show comes on at seven, and by 76 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:15.560 then The eaton Fire had also started barreling towards Altadena. 77 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:18.639 To Walla Sharp, I was telling your business because I 78 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:22.040 think someone could have benefited from knowing how seriously not 79 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:24.279 only are we telling them to take it, but how 80 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:26.720 seriously we are taking it. 81 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:29.879 Producer Tawalla Sharp lives in Altadena. He rushed back home 82 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:32.600 to help his family leave before coming back to the show. 83 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:37.240 The entire ride back to Altadena, the wind was the 84 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:41.439 nastiest I've ever experienced. The debris things fly from the freeway. 85 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:44.759 There are actual trees on the one thirty four, the 86 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:46.800 actual trees from from I don't know where they're come from, 87 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:48.839 but the small trees that are maybe on the side 88 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:52.279 of the freeways or whatever, in the actual freeway. 89 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:55.519 It is absolutely crazy. K if I decided to go 90 00:04:55.560 --> 00:04:58.160 wall to wall with live coverage NonStop for days. 91 00:04:58.279 --> 00:05:00.879 I'm gonna be with you all the way up until midnight, 92 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:03.160 and then Tim Conway Junior is going to come back 93 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:06.560 to the studio bless his heart, and go from midnight 94 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:10.319 to three am. Neil Savagor will be in from three 95 00:05:10.439 --> 00:05:13.439 to five am, and then Amy King will take over 96 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:16.160 the normal course of things with wake up call at 97 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:17.040 five am. 98 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.639 The scenes of destruction were breathtaking. As I told Valentine 99 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:23.399 on my FM while reporting from Altadna. 100 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:23.639 Whatever iHeart. 101 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:26.399 Reporters from KFI Michael Monks in the phone line, Michael, 102 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:27.839 where are you right now? 103 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:31.600 I'm on the corner of Mariposa Street and El Molina Avenue. 104 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:34.720 I'm standing in front of the Mariposa town Homes for rent. 105 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.160 This sign has no damage to it at all, whatsoever? 106 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:42.759 Mere feet behind the sign advertising the town homes. There 107 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:46.040 are no town homes gone. They're burned to the ground. 108 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:48.839 There is smoke coming off of the rubble that used 109 00:05:48.839 --> 00:05:51.720 to be these homes that the owners were trying to 110 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:52.240 rent out. 111 00:05:56.519 --> 00:05:58.800 We talk about the news coverage. We talked to victims 112 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:01.040 who lost their homes out. What's happening for them? 113 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:02.639 Now I truly, truly. 114 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:06.920 Truly hope and pray that Alcadema can rebuild and that 115 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:11.040 that character and that thing that grew up with can 116 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:13.079 be there for future generations to see. 117 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:17.279 My biggest fear on January was the biggest problem is 118 00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:18.920 going to be is going to be the city and 119 00:06:18.959 --> 00:06:23.720 the politics, And that's kind of exactly what's happening. 120 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:24.360 We look at the. 121 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:28.040 Historic buildings and iconic businesses taken by the flames. 122 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:31.600 In a manner of hours. So many were lost, so 123 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:36.800 it's sort of unfathomable to even still get your arms around. 124 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:39.199 We hear from the local government about how we're supposed 125 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:42.360 to move forward. We examine the economic costs not just 126 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:44.079 to victims but to all of us. 127 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:48.519 We predict that talking projects will still increase in the 128 00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:49.120 long term. 129 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:52.360 And then the independent phone app that many relied on 130 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:54.160 for up to the second information. 131 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:57.360 I would have assumed that you know, the same folks 132 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:59.360 who build roads and schools. 133 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:01.759 And infrastructure or going to be building a larning systems 134 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:03.279 to keep us informed. 135 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:07.839 And although they exist, they're not really properly used. 136 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:11.000 And how the disaster has given LA the opportunity to 137 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:11.600 come together. 138 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:15.000 There is a silver lining through this. It's a LA 139 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:19.279 has been really mobilized to where we've seen the best 140 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:20.759 of our city. 141 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:23.319 LA fires, a path forward. 142 00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:47.600 You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand. 143 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:42.639 Kf I Am six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 144 00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:45.720 I'm Michael Monks from KFI News. This is our special 145 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:49.079 report on the LA wildfires. When those fires broke out, 146 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:52.639 a familiar voice from afternoons here at KFI suddenly picked 147 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:56.120 up a new shift carrying the airwaves in the overnight hours. 148 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:57.600 By Am six forty. 149 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:00.319 It's Conway Show, a little bit late to our early 150 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:04.800 whatever wherever you are, but we are on There's First Respawn. 151 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:07.360 Tim Conwley Junior knows LA well. 152 00:08:07.399 --> 00:08:10.720 On that Tuesday morning, I knew that we didn't have. 153 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:13.759 Helicopter footage because the President was in town, so I 154 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:16.800 knew it was much worse than we were seeing, much 155 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:20.439 much worse. Plus, I live in Burbank and I've grown 156 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:22.560 up in the San Fernando Valley my entire life. I 157 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:26.319 went to in Sino Elementary, Portola Junior High, Birmingham High School. 158 00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:29.160 I did the whole valley run, and I've been here, 159 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:32.480 you know, greater than five decades, and I've never seen 160 00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:34.639 wind like that, and I've ever felt win like that. 161 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:37.879 I felt like our house was going to be destroyed 162 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:40.440 by the by just the wind, not the fire, the wind. 163 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:42.720 We lost five trees on our property. I'm not complaining 164 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:44.879 a lot of people lost more, but I'm just telling 165 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:48.480 you as a barometer, those trees are old, and they're tough, 166 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:51.840 and they've never even shown any signs of being in 167 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:54.799 any stress or blown and they were completely blown down, you. 168 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:55.679 Know, the Palisades. 169 00:08:56.039 --> 00:08:59.600 And even during the aftermath when the fires had kind 170 00:08:59.639 --> 00:09:02.679 of gone out, going to cover it and driving on PCH, 171 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:06.240 you could see, like, ah, I understand why people want 172 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:07.879 to live here. I mean, like that is the California 173 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:10.360 people's minds, right right. I mean that's the palm trees, 174 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:12.679 It's the beaches, it's the little shacks that people are 175 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:16.039 eating in there on the on the waterfront. What does 176 00:09:16.039 --> 00:09:20.559 it mean to have that California kana taken away from 177 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:21.559 La Well? 178 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:22.320 I think that. 179 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:25.919 I don't really I'll tell you, I'll be honest with you. 180 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:27.440 I don't think I've ever said this on the air. 181 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.240 I never felt comfortable in Palisades. I always thought that 182 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:34.200 those people were wealthier than I was, They had nicer 183 00:09:34.279 --> 00:09:37.240 cars than I did. They were just like an upper 184 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:41.039 class people that I felt uncomfortable around. And I remember 185 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:43.480 going to a New Year's party there, no, I'm sorry, 186 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:46.279 a Fourth of July party there last year, and I 187 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:48.879 just felt like everybody around there was super wealthy and 188 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:53.480 I felt like a scumbag in my twenty eighteen Lincoln Navigator. 189 00:09:53.799 --> 00:09:55.519 So I go to the track all the time, which 190 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:57.720 is out in the Arcadia. I relate to those people. 191 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:01.679 More guys would go to you know, Kmart, Walmart, you know, 192 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:05.120 Standard shoes, Orange Julie is the old school guys. You know, 193 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:08.639 that's where my dad would be more comfortable hanging out. 194 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:11.279 And I think, as you know, as his kid, I 195 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.759 feel more comfortable with the people in the flats in Arcadia, 196 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:16.440 past the DNA and Alta Dina. 197 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:19.919 I mean to that end, though, there's something equalizing about 198 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:24.200 watching a neighborhood like that brought to the ground that 199 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:26.240 you've been here a long time, and LA is sort 200 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:28.879 of I mean, this is my perspective, but it seems 201 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:31.240 like a disconnected place. You've got your part of LA 202 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:34.039 and you know it well, and you don't necessarily know 203 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:35.519 what's going on on the other side of town. 204 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:37.960 You don't even necessarily care. There aren't a lot. 205 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:41.000 Of opportunities for the so called La strong. You know, 206 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:44.559 there's not a lot of let's come together, La. What 207 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:47.879 have you seen as an LA guy in that respect? 208 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:51.840 Is are you noticing some sort of neighborliness that has 209 00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:53.039 never existed here before? 210 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:55.600 Well that's a good point. I remember. 211 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:57.639 Look, I still if I were to get in the 212 00:10:57.679 --> 00:10:59.440 car right now and you'd say, hey, take me to Colt, 213 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:00.919 and I'd be like, what, I. 214 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:02.080 Don't know where Colton is. 215 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:05.840 But I hear Colton on commercials when like a waterbed 216 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:08.399 store is going out of business, or a Futon store. 217 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:11.000 You know, Colton, Colton, Colton water. 218 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:13.240 Bed store after fifty four years going out of business. 219 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:14.960 I'm like, good, So I don't know where a lot 220 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:19.879 of these areas are. I only know, you know, La, 221 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:22.480 I'm familiar. I'm now getting familiar with the Inland Empire 222 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:24.639 because we go. I go up to Marongo so often 223 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:26.919 that I can like buzz around there. But I think 224 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:30.559 there is a and I hope it stays a sense of, 225 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:32.799 you know, the wealthy people and the poor people, the 226 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:35.039 people have been burned out, all getting together and helping 227 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:38.320 each other out. But as you know, this is LA 228 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:41.279 and that lasts for a very short period of time, 229 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:43.320 and then guys with money come in. 230 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:44.679 And they buy everybody out. 231 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:48.600 It's starting to happen in Pasadena, Altadena and the Palisades well. 232 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:52.200 Broadcasting live as the fires cleaned countless homes, Tim helped 233 00:11:52.200 --> 00:11:54.600 people understand the magnitude of what was going on. 234 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:58.240 What a day in Los Angeles. Everybody will remember where 235 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:01.200 they were, if you're old enough, what you were doing, 236 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:04.480 and what a nightmare this was for a lot of people, 237 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:06.480 a ton of people, and a lot of people are 238 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.440 gonna wake up tomorrow and have the one thing that 239 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:14.639 we all cherish taken from them and beyond it, it's 240 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:18.120 beyond their control. It's a fire. It's the worst thing 241 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:21.000 that can happen to your home. It happened so suddenly. 242 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:23.720 Tim's knowledge of LA helped him understand the impact on 243 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:26.360 the people who saw everything they own go up in flames. 244 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:30.440 It was the worst because you know these people who 245 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:32.879 are you know, look when we do news and you 246 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:36.399 know this, monks, when we do news on KFI, if 247 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:39.600 it's a Wednesday afternoon, and there's a house on fire 248 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:44.679 in Pasadena. All four helicopters are over it, you know, two, four, five, seven, 249 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:47.360 nine eleven. Everybody's over it, talking about it. You can 250 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:51.399 see the smoke forever. It's the lead story on every newscast. 251 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:54.559 The home, nice home in Pasadena burned up. Well, multiply 252 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:57.600 that by fourteen thousand and we've never experienced anything like 253 00:12:57.600 --> 00:12:58.039 that before. 254 00:12:58.080 --> 00:12:59.279 Nobody knows how to handle it. 255 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:01.840 And even after the fires, nobody knows what to do 256 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:03.720 with the debris, with all the you know, with all 257 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:07.039 the trash and all the you know, they the the 258 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:10.759 what is it called the debris and the toxic chemicals, 259 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:11.960 nobody knows what to do with it. 260 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:14.919 And with more fires erupting, even as the Palisades and 261 00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:19.000 Alta Dina continued to burn, kfi's regular voices found themselves 262 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:22.240 in the host chair much later or earlier than usual. 263 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:24.960 You'd be surprised how many people were listening overnight, you know, 264 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:26.440 from midnight to five am. 265 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:30.159 And one particular incident I thought was. 266 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:33.559 I hate to use the term powerful, because you know, 267 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:36.320 I sound like an a hole, but when the fire 268 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:38.200 broke out in the Hollywood Hills, I think they called 269 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:40.639 the Sunset Fire and it broke out in Hollywood Hills. 270 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:43.080 Chris Christy is the first guy over it on Channel seven, 271 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:46.720 and there's no fire trucks around, and we kept telling everybody, 272 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:51.000 if you're on Gardener or Le Brea or Fountain or Franklin, you. 273 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:52.559 Got to get out of that area. You know, this 274 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:54.120 is this fire is coming to you. 275 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:56.360 And then we heard back from people saying that they 276 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.200 listened to that and they got out of their home, 277 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:00.759 they got in their car and they started driving because 278 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:01.320 they heard that. 279 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:02.320 I thought that was really cool. 280 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:05.519 Up next, we talk with folks from right here in 281 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:09.000 our studios who lost homes in the Palisades and Alta Dina. 282 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:13.360 It's really hard to describe the loss because there's certain 283 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:15.639 things that you'll just you know, you can remember, but 284 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:16.600 you'll never get back. 285 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:19.879 And then the landmarks, we all lost a complete erature 286 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:21.320 of historic destinations. 287 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:26.039 It's sort of unfathomable to even still get your arms 288 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:28.559 around what was here and what is now gone. 289 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:32.879 You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand. 290 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:42.559 KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 291 00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:46.000 I'm Michael Monks from KFI News. This is La Fires 292 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:49.240 a path forward, our special look at what happened and 293 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:53.159 what happens next. The wildfires that engulf Pacific Palisades and 294 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:56.200 Alta Dina burned about thirty miles from each other, torching 295 00:14:56.360 --> 00:15:00.279 different examples of life in La County. The Palisades the 296 00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:04.840 quintessential southern California postcard image, waves crashing into the sand, 297 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:08.879 palm trees blowing in the breeze, Stately homes casting their 298 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:13.320 silhouettes towards the famous Pacific Coast Highway. Alta Dina showcased 299 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:16.879 day's small town existence and in otherwise mega city, old 300 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:20.559 school business districts, cozy homes on tree lined streets with 301 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:24.240 mountains on the horizon. But the experience during the fires 302 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:28.279 were wildly similar, including the holding onto hope that the 303 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.840 forecasts would prove wrong or any fires would pass by. 304 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:34.759 I wasn't thinking about losing the house, or losing the neighborhood, 305 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:37.039 anything like that. I'm just thinking, just in case his life. 306 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:39.200 I have to be gone for the weekend. Sure, I'll 307 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:41.200 grab a few thieves, I grab a week's worth of stuff, 308 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:42.960 and I said, Okay, I'm gonna go back to work. 309 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:45.840 Let me know if anything happened to Walla. Sharp is 310 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:48.639 the producer of Leader with Mo Kelly here at KFI. 311 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:51.879 His family has lived in Altadena for decades. David Howard, 312 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:55.279 vice president of sales here at iHeartMedia, was also hopeful 313 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:56.840 at his home in the Palisades. 314 00:15:57.000 --> 00:15:59.600 We knew that this one felt a little bit different. 315 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:03.080 My wife came home and she so we got to 316 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:04.480 get out of here. And I wasn't ready to go 317 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:06.879 yet because the wind. I wasn't trying to be a hero, 318 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:09.399 but the wind had shifted, and you know a couple 319 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:11.759 of us, like women, trying to stay and to our 320 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:12.879 best to save the property. 321 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:16.480 But the worst did happen, and both communities were nearly 322 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:20.200 entirely leveled. So much was taken that both men say 323 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:24.120 they got lost driving on streets they'd been down countless times. 324 00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:27.639 There were you know, houses and burning on both sides 325 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:30.679 of sunset, embers flying, and we kind of paused for 326 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:32.919 a second and asked ourselves, is this a good idea as 327 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:35.399 it's safe? And my younger one asked me that, and 328 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:36.759 I said, you know, it's safe until we have to 329 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:41.440 turn around. And so we got through and I made 330 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:44.159 a sharp ride on Chatauqua which is the street that 331 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:46.879 takes us up to our house. And I literally lost 332 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:48.799 my I had no frame of reference as to where 333 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:51.360 I was, and I was like, where are we? Like 334 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:54.799 I felt, you know, almost lost, and I realized that 335 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:58.200 there wasn't a structure as far as I could see 336 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:03.600 in any direction. So it was like, holy gosh, this 337 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:05.880 is this is a this is a total loss. 338 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.279 When I first re entered the city, I did not 339 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:12.880 know where I was because there were no recognizable landmarks 340 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:15.519 for me to know what street was what. I didn't 341 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:19.160 even recognize my own street because the different houses that 342 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:20.880 I know, I don't have to have a street sign. 343 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:23.480 I know where I'm at just by the houses or 344 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:26.559 or the car wash or whatever. To see all of 345 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:30.000 that gone, it tears the very hard out of me 346 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:30.920 each and every time. 347 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:34.079 And now David Howard and Touwalla Sharp are reckoning with 348 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:35.000 the immense loss. 349 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:38.160 It's amazing because literally every day, every night you'll kind 350 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:39.920 of wake up and go, oh my god, that's gone 351 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.400 to or you know, how do I replace that? Or 352 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:46.880 maybe I don't replace it, So that part is, you know, 353 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:50.680 it's hard to It's so overwhelming because there's just so 354 00:17:50.759 --> 00:17:54.000 many things to take care of in addition to remembering 355 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:55.000 the things that you lost. 356 00:17:55.400 --> 00:18:01.480 There's no way by the time the warning, the sun 357 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:05.000 rose on the next day and we got the reports 358 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:09.960 that everything was gone. Even still there's no I couldn't 359 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:13.440 believe it. I could not believe it. Everything is gone. 360 00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:16.559 And they both have questions for the government about preparation 361 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:17.880 and response. 362 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:21.359 Those of us who have been impacted are suffering, you know, 363 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:23.640 and so that that's the part that sucks. And it's 364 00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:28.920 like even now we're having conversations where they're like, by 365 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:32.160 the end of February, phase one of the cleanup removal 366 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:36.799 of debris should be done. By hopefully end of March, 367 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:38.640 we should be done with phase two as far as 368 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:41.119 cleaning up a lot of the toxic debris and all 369 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:45.200 of that. But then then you should be able to 370 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:48.039 be like, we should be able to what we should 371 00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:50.319 be able to move in and be right to mac 372 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:52.519 dab in the middle of what looks like a DMZ. 373 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:55.799 What are you talking about that's going to be having 374 00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:57.039 ongoing construction. 375 00:18:57.240 --> 00:18:59.000 Yeah no, yeah, no, no, thanks. 376 00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:02.680 No thanks. You know, said that they were ready for 377 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:05.000 you know, several days, and they weren't ready at all. 378 00:19:05.079 --> 00:19:08.799 So it just its just I feel like I think 379 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:11.279 everybody feels it. As bad as it was, it could 380 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:14.400 have been less bad because but there was just no fight. 381 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:16.559 There was no resources at all, and it just it's 382 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:19.599 hard to comprehendo that happened. That makes this whole thing 383 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:24.440 even more difficult. And you know, if I know that 384 00:19:24.519 --> 00:19:28.440 homes would have burnt, the wind was insane, and you know, 385 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:31.880 the structure protection, you know, it would have been a 386 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:35.240 challenge in any way, shape or form. But to let 387 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:38.279 the city just burn and not have anybody trying to 388 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:40.640 save that part and there was no one saving it. 389 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:43.119 It was burning, and that they just kind of let 390 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:45.440 it burn. So it's hard to hard to get your 391 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:46.000 head around that. 392 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:48.799 Now. Of course, there's all types of governmental organizations that 393 00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:50.839 are saying we will help, but you know what they're 394 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:53.599 helping us with. They're helping us to get stuck in 395 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:57.480 red tape and bureaucracy and oh, you've got to call 396 00:19:57.519 --> 00:19:59.519 this department, and this department says you got to call 397 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:02.319 this depart and then you get the run around. I 398 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:04.279 love all the politicians who out in front of the 399 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:06.720 cameras saying we are here to help help us do 400 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:09.880 what help us to get a busy signal, or help 401 00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:10.920