"Don't Do It Alone": 18 Things Natural Disaster Survivors Want Those Affected By The LA Fires To Know
The history-making fires blazing through the Southern California area have already burned through over 2,000 structures, and almost 200,000 residents have been forced to evacuate from their homes.
The feeling of leaving behind your life with just a few belongings must be incredibly gut-wrenching. Dealing with the aftermath of this type of damage is just as heartbreaking and frustrating.
To help in some small way, I asked our BuzzFeed Community members who have lived through a natural disaster to share advice for LA residents that might be useful in the coming days. Here is what they shared:
1."We lost everything during the Tubbs fire in Northern California in 2017. We had about 15 minutes to get out at 2 a.m. Right now, you are eternally grateful that your people are okay, and rightfully so, but it will hit you that you miss your 'stuff.' It’s okay, and it’s okay to be mad, sad, and everything all at once. You will have friends who didn’t experience what you did and say, 'It’s just things,' but you know what? It’s your things, life, and history, and you get to feel how you feel. Don’t let anyone invalidate your feelings. Your story is your story. Also, PTSD is very real. Asking for help if you are struggling mentally is okay, too. Seven years later, I am still in therapy. Sending so much love to our neighbors in Southern California. We, up here in Northern California, know what you are going through in a way that very few people can."
2."My best insurance advice for anyone who has to itemize is to sit with anyone who is familiar with the house and think through each room. Different people will remember different items, and it can be really useful when your brain is in trauma mode."
—Marlee, Colorado Springs, CO
3."Invite friends over for a home-cooked meal. I lived in a hotel for two months after losing my home in a tornado. Actually, invite friends over for a specific date. Don’t leave it up to them. I never wanted to impose on people. Let friends be angry, sad, overwhelmed. Whatever feelings they go through are valid. Just listen. There’s no advice I ever wanted. I just wanted a listening ear when I was overwhelmed."
"We had to list everything we owned by memory. I did that in a hotel room for 4 hours a day over a week or two. It would’ve been nice to just sit with a friend in their home and try to make my lists. When you look at other people's stuff, it's easier to remember what you had (although the company we dealt with definitely helped with that part)."
4."After experiencing flood damage from Hurricane Debby and only weeks later a direct and devastating hit from Helene, you learn just how important your neighbors and community are! Electricity and cell service were non-existent for every single person in my town for at least 24 hours after Helene. It’s a very isolating and scary feeling not knowing what’s happening outside your immediate surroundings. However, seeing everyone out and about helping and comforting others made you feel less alone and scared. And you realize the world isn’t all bad, and people of all different faiths, political views, etc. can come together."
5."If you don’t have video of the belongings you had in the home, log into any and all accounts you have that you purchased items from (even grocery stores keep track) and get your receipts to submit to insurance. For any gifts you had been given, ask those who gifted it if they gave receipts. Any photos of family and friends in the home on your phone can also be submitted as your belongings are in the background. To get paid back for lost items, the more you can prove what you had, the more you get back."
—Anonymous
6."When looking for a rental while your home is rebuilt, see if you can find what it was rented for prior to the fire. If the price you are being told is 10% higher than that, the landlord is breaking the law. Contact the authorities and let them know."
—Anonymous
7."My house exploded and caught fire when I was a kid. Prepare to have triggers that may not be related to fires at all. I was afraid of being far from exits, above the third floor of a building, or in enclosed spaces. I highly recommend therapy for the full family as well as maintaining closeness. There are going to be numerous hurdles and logistics challenges for at least a year after the fact. I remember feeling very alone as my parents tried to get a roof over my head, putting weekly family time in the past. Think hard about rebuilding or moving. It takes longer to rebuild a house than you’d think (at least 12 months). Plus, the house you rebuild will never be the same home. For some folks, it makes more sense to move and reduce the amount of time you’re displaced."
—Anonymous
8."I lost my home and everything inside to a tornado in Ontario, Canada, 2.5 years ago. Those 'things' were part of my whole life. Childhood dolls gifted by family who’ve passed on. Pictures. Old little notes from my childhood friends. Things aren’t just TVs and couches. Things can have meaning. And absolutely let yourself feel every single emotion. They are ALL valid. It was devastating. Offer those people a meal. Invite them over — don’t just use it as a gesture. Follow through. No one wants to ask for help. Just offer it."
9."I had to evacuate from my hometown twice due to wildfires when I was growing up. As a kid, it can be frightening not knowing what'll happen to your home when you're away from it, particularly if it's a place you're really attached to. If you have kids you're bringing with you when you evacuate, try your hardest to bring some items that can comfort them and remind them of home. When we evacuated, we went with several neighbors and stayed together in a common hotel for weeks."
"They weren't family, but I was grateful we had other people to talk to and bond with, who knew exactly what one another were going through. If there is another family or group of people you can leave with, do it. Lastly, when you return home, ash and debris will fall from the sky for weeks. Make sure to protect your respiratory system with masks if you can access them. Stay inside if possible to limit smoke and ash exposure."
—Ash, New Mexico.
10."[If you can], prep an emergency bag. Fill it with long-life and high-energy foods, water, water purification tablets, batteries, a first aid kit, a torch, an emergency blanket, maps, matches/lighter, flares, a whistle, etc. For some peculiar reason, my expat parents tended to land jobs in earthquake, typhoon, monsoon, and flood-prone countries, so we learned early on to always prep an emergency bag, adapting it to whatever natural disaster was prominent in that country, and keep it by the front door. It's a habit I've kept even though I don't currently live in a natural disaster area. Better safe than sorry."
"My family and I call them go bags and keep them by our doors as well. I also keep my passport, a few photos, and a small amount of cash in there. I swap out the clothes in it each season and make sure to include things like tissue/toilet paper, nonperishable food, and sturdy footwear. My sister has airplane bottles of alcohol in hers, lol. In an emergency, we can grab a few important things and go. You can never be truly prepared to lose everything, but you can alleviate the stress of randomly grabbing things when it’s time to go."
11."Use your support system and delegate. Your friends want to help but don’t know how. So try to be candid. It will be really hard because your brain will turn off. But think of what they can do and give them a job. The friends who could go through our flooded stuff helped muck out, the ones who were good at laundry ran a ton at the laundromat, and the ones who couldn’t go to the house made us meals and dropped them off. If you’re with a partner, one can do things on the ground, and the other can do other duties. But share your struggles with the other person and listen to theirs. Don’t go it alone. You need help to keep you sane, and that’s good."
"If y’all are out and okay, let the rest go. That’s going to be hard. But keep trying. Everything is very confusing. And when you ask for help, it’s still confusing. However, although they may not help financially, the people you talk to when you call FEMA are very kind and helpful. Some things can’t be done right now. You want to accomplish everything, but some things need time to work. So push where you can and wait when you have to. You can’t just push all the time; you’ll go mad and waste time and energy. Be patient."
—Anonymous
12."I got my roof ripped off by Hurricane Ian in 2022. Be prepared to fight your insurance company. They will treat you well at first (like helping find hotels and covering costs) while the news is still covering the event, but that will change. Keep all receipts of expenses and be ready to submit them. They will reimburse you based on the difference between what you have paid while evacuated and what you claim your usual expenses are (so don’t overestimate your usual expenses, thinking they’ll pay you more)."
"Research a good third-party adjuster and be ready for it to take months and possibly go to litigation. My insurance adjuster estimated our damages to be a little over $20,000, and that’s what they willingly gave us. Our third-party adjuster estimated $200,000+. It took so long that I had to sell a condo I was renting out to pay out of pocket for new ceilings, permanently altering my income.
If you have a mortgage, start researching what they require now. It’s not as simple as getting a check cashed. Your mortgage will probably hold that money in your escrow, and you will have to prove repairs are being made before they release it. The system is set up to really make things more difficult than they need to be. Don’t give up! Keep fighting, and don’t let them win."
13."I grew up in LA, and just survived Helene. The best advice I can think of is to accept help, even if you feel other people are worse off. Be kind to yourself. You just went through an incredibly traumatic experience, and you still may be in shock. Even if you feel okay now, you may not once the adrenaline wears off. Take that help. Millions are wanting to help in whichever way they can."
"For my fellow pre-existing PTSD folks, you may feel totally alive right now and as if you were made for this crisis. Take care of yourself in the coming weeks. The drop-off when things return to normal is HARD. Flashbacks will hit you when you least expect it. It's okay to not be okay."
14."Be prepared to be displaced for longer than expected. It’s not fun to think about, but make sure that you try to retain a sense of normalcy and do something that makes you feel like yourself while you’re displaced."
—Anonymous
15."Watching TV and social media will do nothing but add to your anxiety. Check-in from time to time and play board games or cards instead. It’s a good distraction. It will be at least 96 hours before you can take any action. The distraction will make the wait easier."
16."Be careful around drinking water. Bottled water should be the only thing you look for. During such times, clean water is scarce."
17."I grew up on the Wasatch Front in Utah. From a very young age, I was taught all about the 72-hour plan (I currently live in the UK, away from fault lines and coasts, and I still have an emergency kit with supplies for my cat and myself). In 2020, I was living with my mom in SLC when I experienced my first semi-serious earthquake, 5.0. My mother was at work, and I just happened to have the day off. After the quake and aftershocks mostly subsided, she had me check and photograph every section of our house’s foundation. The house is a late Victorian and there were changes after the quake, because of the pictures I took, my mother’s earthquake insurance had to pay for the damage because we had the proof that it wasn’t present before the earthquake."
18."Our attention span in the US is so short. You will receive overwhelming support immediately, but unfortunately, it will be brief. Take it while it’s offered because it won’t last. How people have moved on when the disaster still consumes your world will be confusing. The PTSD will be unpredictable. Sounds, sights, smells, etc., will set you off. Work with a therapist and lean on your loved ones and communities."
—Anonymous
If you have more advice, please share it below in the comments. To help those impacted by the fires, check out these resources here.
