Starting on January 7, several major wildfires broke out in the Los Angeles area, burning over 40,000 acres of land, resulting in 29 casualties (as of January 27, 2025) and displacing thousands of families.
Entire communities have been burned down, memories and cherished locations have been lost to the flames. In these trying times, many people that have been affected by the fires have had to relocate.
Senior Mariah de Olivera Mendes and her family have taken in family friends who have been displaced. Their friends’ home in Brentwood was thankfully spared from the flames, but since their location was so close to the fires, they were forced to evacuate due to the harmful air quality.
“They came to stay with us…for days. It was really hard to see their young kids asking when they were going to go back home and when their lives would return to normal,” Mendes said. “It was especially challenging for their older son, who is 7, because he was really disappointed to miss school and his soccer practice.”
As the community of Los Angeles starts the road to recovery, people in the surrounding counties have stepped up to help.
Many people have volunteered their homes to foster animals from the local shelters, countless boxes of clothing and household items have been donated, and uplifting messages of support have been pouring in from across the country.
In our own community, PVHS students have taken matters into their own hands to provide aid to other students in the affected areas.
“When [PVHS Girls Basketball] played the Palisades team, we put together baskets for the girls, filled with a bunch of toiletries, hair products, and snacks,” senior and Varsity Girls Basketball player Kayla Baker said
“They were really shocked and grateful when we gave [the baskets] to them, and were surprised that people over in Palos Verdes actually cared enough to do this for them.”
Those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires continue to stay strong and work towards recovery with Sea Kings helping these efforts in many ways.