Devestation in California

Nov.8 2018 devastation struck California in the afternoon with the Woolsey fire, started by a power line spark that resulted in over 100,000 acres of destroyed land, 1,500 destroyed homes, 341 damaged homes, and the loss of three lives. Andrew Kraut, California born and raised, currently resides in Texas and opened up about his experience this last fall with his family home in Calabasas, CA.

“Growing up, there have always been wildfires occurring. The [Santa Ana] winds from the ocean are strong, there are lots of hills in the area, and California is really dry. It’s a recipe for disaster,” says Kraut. When he found out about the Woolsey fire, he was in Washington D.C. for an academic trip. He says he felt helpless and overwhelmed with the emotions of his family being in California, at the time under a mandatory evacuation. He worried for not only his family, but his friends, neighbors, and community as a whole.

Those following weeks were struck with heartbreak and loss, thankfully the Kraut family didn’t lose their home. Kraut recalls when he returned home for the winter break about a month after Woolsey, the air was, ‘the dirtiest I’d ever seen.”

Kraut recalls the sense of community and selflessness when he returned to his neighborhood. Everyone was willing to help one another, for they all understood the mutual loss. He walked around his neighborhood to see the burned down park, melted jungle gym sets and all. “Everything was just so brown. It was, and still is, so tremendously sad,” says Kraut.

The low humidity, dry brush, and gusty winds aided the spread of the Woolsey fire, tearing through Simi Valley and spreading town to town. Kraut describes the enormous fire and says that the fire fighters were already out trying to contain a nearby fire. Kraut says that even when the fire fighters are there containing the fires, they struggle because the fire was just too big to put out.

In a story from the Los Angeles times, a crew member of the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived and estimated the Woolsey fire to,’ be about five acres with a rapid rate of spread and structures threatened.” During this time, the crew member reported the southeast winds at a speed between 25 to 30 miles per hour.

These strong winds aided the fires rapid spread, jumping over Highway 101 headed towards the Pacific Coast and moving closer into the Calabasas and Agoura Hills border, according to Kraut.

Kraut has lived in California for the entirety of his life and says that this has always been a common problem his family and neighbors faced. In his town, there have been optional evacuations and warnings before but this was the first time his family was ordered a mandatory evacuation. He goes into details of the shock and hardships the Woolsey fire brought, but nonetheless he expresses his hope and optimism.

Kraut says the Woolsey fire began as three separate fires that all converged to one. Fire fighters and emergency personnel could not immediately respond to these fires due to the Hill fire that took priority, due to it being an immediate threat to people’s lives and homes.