Even as firefighters and state officials expressed guarded optimism Tuesday about their chances to contain a week-old wildfire that has consumed more than 120,000 acres north of Los Angeles, local residents remained scared. Evacuees pondered the fate of their homes, while others wondered if their turn to flee would be next.
Jewish Community Copes With Massive Southern California Fire
Even as firefighters and state officials expressed guarded optimism Tuesday about their chances to contain a week-old wildfire that has consumed more than 120,000 acres north of Los Angeles, local residents remained scared. Evacuees pondered the fate of their homes, while others wondered if their turn to flee would be next.
At Chabad-Lubavitch of Glendale and the Foothill Communities, a synagogue and community center for the few thousand families in the area, Rabbi Simcha Backman said that he could see the flames from his house. He wasn’t concerned for his own property, but he said that many of his community members were forced in the past couple of days to evacuate in the face of fast-moving flames.
His staff has directed some to emergency services, helped others book hotel rooms, and assisted in paying for rooms for others.
“We’ve been helping anybody who needs our assistance,” reported Backman. “Thankfully, most people around here can afford their own emergency accommodations, but at times like these, even simple things can become impossible tasks. It’s difficult to call around looking for shelter when you see fire inching up behind your home.”
Of particular note, said the rabbi, was that some members were putting up evacuees in their homes. He’s been spending an increasing amount of time placing families on the run with others whom fate has allowed to stay put.
“I remember in 2003, there was a fire right up the block from my house,” he detailed. “But up until now, the homes that have been destroyed have been in the mountains. Most of the firefighters’ efforts are to keep it out of Los Angeles.”
