Special Coverage Continues from Los Angeles

Hey, that folks.

In this episode, you are going to hear from several people. You're going to hear their stories of trying to escape, survive the fires that are still continuing to wreak havoc in southern California, in particular the Los Angeles area, which is where Robock and I are right now.

Welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ.

Robes.

It's much different covering the story from Afar than to come here and get on the ground. And it's one thing to see it, which changed our perspective a little bit. But then once you start talking to people and the next person, and the next person and the next person, it changes your perspective again about this disaster that we've been witnessing for a week now.

Yes, and a disaster that is still continuing because the threat of new fires. The winds are still raging here in Los Angeles and will be for a large part of this week, and it's a threat that kind of always hangs over the head of folks who live in this area. So to see it all come almost in a perfect horrific way, where the winds were just right or wrong, no matter how you look at it, and

So many these stories we're hearing.

Somebody had to drop everything and rush to their kids' school and get the kid out. Another person had to only had a few minutes to grab a bag and get out of the house. Another person had to abandon their car as are driving down the street and get

She abandoned her car. She was abandoning her car and running for her life. And we're going to begin with this woman because she was remarkable. Her name is Marissa, and not only did she survive this, get her kids and was able to get to safety. Now she's taking this time and she's helped others. She has two restaurants that have survived so far the fires. And Rissa, hats

The days are long, the nights are longer. I was able to sleep last night, which was nice, But then you wake up to what you're going to open up at your phone and wonder if you know our house is still going to be there or not.

So it's hard.

It's hard.

What is what is the I'm not sure how you answer it when people say how you do it? And sometimes we just kind of Sometimes we just go up fine and keep going. What if you're given an honest answer and honest assessment of how you're doing? What is the answer to that question you doing?

It depends when I'm asked, because sometimes I am not well. Sometimes I'm sobbing and crying and devastated and hopeless, and other times I am invigorated and galvanized and hopeful and feeling like we can do this.

How have we caught you in this moment? How you doing?

I'm thankful that my house is still standing, that Matt's house is still standing, that my family, my parents live down in Laguna, my brother is in town from New York, that that we have family around us, and that's really all that matters, you know, Like it's just a house, it is our home. If that burns, we have our family and that's really what matters.

Yeah, and for people, you know, I know that we've been saying it, but it's and of hard to get your head around the fact that you say, my home is still standing. Now I look at my phone and you know, am anticipating potentially bad news because the threat isn't over yet. What is that? Like, Yes, your house is okay right now, but to know that it might not be in an hour or in a day, that's got to be a crazy mind gain that you're having to, Like, how much brain power do you even allow to let

Yeah, it's really challenging to metabolize that. My friend reminded me yesterday to breathe, which is useful sometimes you need that. She like gave me this box breath where you breathe in for three seconds, hold it for three seconds, breathe out for three seconds.

That helps.

There's this old saying I think it's can be our sol guitar. I'm saying it wrong, like to solve by walking. So we're doing a lot of walking and thinking and talking we know we can figure it out whatever happens. Is it stressful, Yes, it is incredibly scary. I'm also thankful for every moment that our house is still standing. The majority of our friends have lost their homes, so right now I'm not needing to deal with that extra

You told me you have a and we heard there's a lot. There are WhatsApp group chats and whatnot. If somebody left behind in the neighborhood. That's checking on all the houses for everybody. How often have you had to resist the urge to not message every fifteen thirty minutes hour say how's the house, how's a house? Or or are there constant updates you're getting?

There's updates every second, so and we're I'm not jumping in. So the chat is for safety and it is it's only an emergency chat, which is we have neighbors on the ground who are spotters and they're looking for blazes to come up. They'll report back where there is a blaze. The neighbor who is running the chat will then send the boots on the ground. Whether it is a something to clear the brush, which we have a brush clearer.

Wow, you have an active fire fighting situation. You've taken up yourselves. It sounds like I assume maybe others are doing this, but this is the first time I have heard to that extent. You all are fighting fires in your ow neighborhood.

Well, yes, I am not fighting the fire, but my neighbors are. I mean, my neighbor's husband is there right now. They're all there, and if they're not there, their families are on the outside. And it's a constant communication. So am I jumping into the chat to ask for how my house is? Absolutely not. I will be told and I will see it, but I'm not jumping in. I'm just not watching it like it's such a blessing and also yes, a curse because I have eyes on the ground and just it's hard.

You are jumping into action though you are helping people. A lot of food needs to be made, a lot of people are hungry, a lot of people are working tirelessly around the clock to do the real work, the hard work to try and protect not just people but properties and sadly from even looters. And there's so many people in this area who are giving all of their time, and so you're giving back. Tell us a little bit about the work you're doing.

On Tuesday evening, I was driving down to Laguna with the kids and the dogs, and I think, like everyone in the world, I was wondering what's for dinner, and then I can't get to my kitchen. But we have kitchens in our restaurants and it was a little plug and play. We set up a program during the pandemic called You Give, We Cook, They Eat, where we delivered food from our kitchens to first responders and frontline workers.

That's all I know.

And I think in times like this where you don't know anything, you have to lean into what you know. You know you know how to tell stories, so here you are, you are sharing other people's stories. That's we do the only thing that we know how to do when we don't know anything else.

Has it been helpful for you? I mean, given all you're going through, kids, wondering if your house is going to be your displaced, but you hear it all the time that when you're hurting, the best thing sometimes you can do is help somebody else and that is what will help your pain. Has that been the case for you as you're suffering?

You are, absolutely, I mean altruism is how how you can feel better. And also, my kids are out of school right now, you know, they're school burned down, and so if mommy can show them how teach them something, whether it's giving back or helping their neighbor. You know, I's got a message. Three of my kids teachers. Their house is burnt down, so the kids are going to deliver food to their teachers. You know, it is we are.

My goodness, Yeah, I mean that is real. I mean there are always silver linings in these types of moments, and community has got to be a huge part of it. Are just feeling like you're a part of something. And I've heard so many wonderful things about Palisades now, It's just it seems like a like a second family, almost like the people who you live by, because you're under a constant threat. I mean, this isn't some new thing.

I mean, my backpack, here is what I had on my back. I was hiking with the dogs up on Mandeville Canyon Tuesday morning with my girlfriend and two dogs.

Are my dogs.

And I looked over at the next ridge and I saw smoke and then flame, and I'm like, where is that? Because you know, when you're hiking in these mountains, you don't really know where you are. And then I worked out where the ocean was, and I worked out, wait, that's behind my kid's school.

I didn't have service at the top of the.

Mountain, so Annie and I ran down and I got a message to collect the kids from school. So I raced over there with the dogs. Everyone was just piling kids. This school acted so efficiently. They did such an amazing job. Ended up then the traffic was truck a block evacuating. So I ended up having to hop out of the car with the dogs and walk out, walked to another friend's house, borrowed his car, and then reconnected with.

My So, you abandoned your car on the side of the road.

Yeah, the smoke was coming and the fire was coming. I mean, the traffic was not good.

Where's your car now?

No, So I got a message from a friend who works in the fire department and said, I think I've seen your car. So the whole hillside there's like four houses that didn't burn, or five houses on this hillside in Deep Palisades, and I had driven my car into one of the driveways and he said I think I see your car.

And I was like, oh Jesus.

So I yesterday was able to get a police escort and he drove me to my car and I'm now in my car.

It's okay, wow, because we saw a lot of cars that were not okay. It's a miracle. But it speaks to the desperation to imagine, you know, I think any of us that you're in your car and that's the fastest way out of anywhere in almost every other circumstance. So the idea that you actually are so desperate and so concerned about what's happening that you abandon your car that speaks volumes.

By the way, it didn't even dawn on me because you're sitting there and you're sort of like, it's hard again to think about what's actually happening. A neighbor of mine was riding his bike up and down the street and he said, Maris, is that you And I said, oh, hi, Todd, yeah, and he goes, baby, you got to get out, and I'm like, what do you mean. He goes, I've I've ridden my bike to the top of the mountain. The smoke and flame, they're coming fast. I see the traffic

Gonna stop everyone.

I was like, yes, you're right, So I just pulled it into a random driveway that happened to be there, and it happened to be want house that survived. It's just a car, but it's nice to not have something else to deal with.

I'm trying to get the perspective of you.

You felt comfortable enough that morning that you put a backpack on and you were going for.

A hike to do a beautiful day. It was a beautiful But we.

Go from and how give me an idea of the timing between the time you think you're fine, I'm cool to take a hike you are scrambling and literally running for your life because a fire is coming. What how much time is there? It's weird to go from everything's fine this morning to the point I'm going to hike to I got to run and get my kid.

Yes, I mean it was even. I mean that was I went for the hike. I think it that was two hours, but by the time I was top of the hike, it was half an hour. Wow, I mean it moved really fast, the winds. My girlfriend we got to that hike and she's like, lovely day, you've chosen for a hike, Maris, and the tumbleweeds were going. I'm like, God, this is dry and hot and windy. It's the worst winds we've ever had.

It's just off.

Oh yeah, it's one of those unfortunate scary reminding that things can change in a moment, and all of a sudden, your experience is it's turned upside down, And then what do you do in that moment?

Right?

It's it's hard to put yourself in that situation. What do you do? But you just act on instinct? Right, You're just.

Yeah, you have we you know, we have a responsibility. Responsibility is the ability to respond. So how do we do that in the most thoughtful, quick way possible. It's hard to be thoughtful and slow and quick and reactive.

At the same time, you sound like it sounds like it's a blessing. You all are surrounded right now. You got family here. You just happen to have your brother in town.

Who's them the extended Thank god, Uncle Ben. This was Chris. He's been good with the kids.

Yeah, that support. Where are you getting your I know you're surrounded, but I know you're trying to be strong for kids, You're trying to be strong for first responders. You have employees, you have all these things. Where is your comfort? I guess who is your counsel these days? As you're being this to everybody else, who is that thing for you?

Right now.

I mean, I live in California, so it's I'm a little bit woo woo. It's my higher spirit. You know, you drop in and you're like, you know, you carve out the time for quiet, You carve out that time for meditation and just to like connect with your senses. And I try and do that a couple times a day, and then it's very clear.

Wow, that breath work. Wow, what's next?

What do you do after this? Yeah, I'm going to see if I can bring some more food to my neighbors, and then I will call some more hospitals and see if they'll receive I've got more people who want to drive for food for next week. And then I'll go back and see the kids and jump in the pool with them and have some family time.

Wow, that's so funny, she said, what's next?

And my first thought was make sure you can insurance company or make sure you got this in line. I find the next place to stay. The first thing out of your mouth was how you were about to help somebody else? Well, she asked, what's next? The first thing, you don't even realize you smiling now. I you don't realize you did it. But the first thing out of your mouth. What's next is to go help this person, help this person, help this person, and then I'll go through the family time.

So, you know, I think Palisades is a different type of neighborhood. It's you know, it's where you When I go into my neighbor's house, I know where her mugs are kept, you know, I know where the powder room is. I know where her kids swim trunks are in his room if I'm grabbing, you know, putting them in the pool. Like, it's a different This is the neighborhood of dreams, and so we will always still help each other even though our neighborhood looks different.

Well, I'm Marissa. I know that this neighborhood is very lucky to have you in it because you are you are doing the work to make sure that your neighbors. You are being the consummate neighbor right, neighborly, and I just I think, thank you for sharing your story. And it's inspirational to see that you're getting out of your own grief and your own trauma and you're rolling up your sleeves and you're making you're rebuilding your neighborhood. One day at a time. We all are.

I'm we're just doing what we know best.

And you don't use how people all over the country are trying to find ways to help. People have just heard you talk about the work you're doing, like, oh, hell yeah, I'd sign up for that. Is there a way that can go about helping you in your effort?

Yeah, I mean we you can text because we're just feeding people dinner, so you can text seventy seventy seventy. You can text dinner to seventy seventy seventy and that is our pledge dot two where we are giving meals ten dollars a meal. My neighbor just told me she's set up a fund. She lives in the canyon with me. It's called Uplifters Ranch. She makes T shirts and it's T shirts of like la that she's had, and all

That's awesome, Rissa, thank you very much. We appreciate it and we appreciate you.

Thanks.

We're here with Julianne and Camille, siblings who have lost now a home that's been in your family how long?

For over sixty years?

For over sixty years you all lived in it. You kids got to live in it for a time. And you were just telling us a story your daughter. After all this went down and that home burn. You all hadn't been living in it, but it's been in the family so long. Your daughter said to you, what once she saw that that home was gone.

She was hoping that one day her kids can live here or experience this house for themselves, just.

The way that she did.

And Julian, you lived in the duplex that was in the back for many years, and his kids as well.

Tooty in the front.

Yeah, the best discount, you know.

And I stayed in there for for many years, and you know, started the family started my family back there with my wife Cynthia, and I have two little ones, and so they're they're grounded and rooted there, you know, like we were just looking at pictures of playing in the Sorry.

Can I ask you all both? This all took place, you know, and and quickly went from Oh, we shouldn't have anything to worry about to oh, my god, our house is in the direct path. How did you all when did you all realize that this was serious.

So where I stayed, the power went out, and I'm not too far from from Altadena.

I've been going up there pretty frequently.

And I got a call from Camille early in the morning, and we didn't have any cell phone signal because the cell phone towers around. So anyways, I got a call from Camille in the morning and she was like, hey, I heard the fire reached Lake, which is a long way.

More panic in that voice.

It was a lot more panic.

It was like the morning.

I'm like, you gotta get to the house.

So I get up, you know, I get up, and I'm like, okay, I'll go check on the house, you know. And then I drove I'm the one that drove up there, and you know, I was the one that was going up the hill. You know, it's native out to dinner ands. You know, we know our way around, you know, the blockades and stuff. So I made my way around and I'm coming up the street and I was the first one to see it. And so the duplex at the top duplex was on fire. Yeah, and so that's what

Was you saw your family home on fire. Yes, yes, you rolled up and you saw. Yeah, that's got to be a moment. What did What was that moment.

Like when I I I didn't even know what the process because like it was, you know, I felt I don't you know, it was it was tough. Like I was sitting there in the car and drive and just looking at this like in disbelief, like I can't believe this is happening. Like I'm you know, like I almost started crying right there because I was.

Just helpless, Like yeah, helpless, helpless.

And I passed one fire truck on the way up and they were just trying to help a home down the hill, you know, And but I didn't see any

Yeah, it hurts.

It's your childhood home, it's your memories and how you began your families and your lives. And you actually had cousins living in the home. They were able to get out safely. How did that all take place?

Yes, yeah, they were.

So the top unit when I got up there, the top unit was on fire. And that was my cousin Stella's. That was our cousin Stella's home. Like she was rooted there for years, and you know, like I just I you know, I just was overwhelmed. I don't I'm not a person that gets overwhelmed, you know, and overstimulated.

And I was over I was that.

And so it was an unfamiliar feeling with me, because like I can you know, I got tough skin. I can handle a lot of things. But that was and I'm and and our other cousin Ari, she was on the bottom unit, and I just like all of their all of their memories, all of their stuff, Like Ari she was that was her home, like you know, her mom had already passed years ago, and her sisters were far away, you know, so like this is her ground,

You know, you this is La people.

Yes fire days.

I think somebody just said to me, you'll know you've been through it's like people go through hurricanes and tornado warnings and whatnot.

Is this the real one?

Do I really evacuate?

And at that point, you know, nothing on that side of town was on fire, but they were in the hard evacuation notice and so they got out just out of safety and they're like, oh, we'll be back, you know, like powers out and.

Other things are out.

And so you know, she found out the state of her house from when I sent them the videos, so she didn't even know.

They thought they'd be back in a couple of hours. Probably per usual. We should always been the case, very much true.

And just to piggy yourself of what he's saying, because he's leaving out a couple of things from that day. One of the things just to kind of experiencing your experience through the video. There was a portion in the video where he is filming it and it's nothing but black smoke. I cannot see next to the house that's right there and the duplex I was on fire, So I do want to experience that was absolutely terrifying for me seeing that on video, but for him seeing that in person.

Can we ask guys? Finally, it just to wrap up what happens now to the home. And I know there is a lot of insurance issues and all this. I don't know what you old situation might be. But what happens next to that property, that home?

What happens?

Great question?

I know.

Definitely we want to rebuild. We don't want to just we have to rebuild the legacy that my grandmother started to the best way that we can. It will be very hard and challenging to do that because a lot of the items were just irreplaceable.

Yeah, what is there something that was the most painful to lose?

I hard to with our mother just passing not that long ago. All of the things that we found most valuable to her we kept there. My dad's who passed away, his uh he had this grandfather clock and you know grandfather clock in the black household. That's like who you made it? Yes, all out and winded and they had to stay wound up. And that's gone. It's just it's it's so many things. My grandmother's sewing table, she was a seamstress in Hollywood and built did costumes for the

Well, Julian Camil, I'm sorry for the circumstances that have brought us together, but it's a pleasure to see you all. Meet you all, and you know you've added. We've had a weird morning and reasons to be down, but you all came in here and lift its bears and think you all, after what you've been through, you got smiles on your face and then you have good energy to you. So thank you and good luck to you. Hope we can follow up.

Yes, thank you, thank you for talking with us, joining us. Now we have Adam here who lives in the Palisades correct and owns two businesses and a home. And tell me how you fared.

So we've fared, I hate to say luckily right. Our home is still standing. It's one of the only streets I think that's still standing in the Palisades. But across the street from us, actually where we are is where the fire started in the Highlands, and across the street from us is completely toast burned down and it's horrible there. Our street is still standing. It's disgusting. It's dirty, it's soot and ash and dirt, and our trees are scorched

It's those little moments where you just chuckle in the middle of total devastation.

I think that the part that hit me the most was when we drove down our street. We have about twenty homes in our street, and as we drive down, I go slowly because there's so many kids on the street. And then as I'm going slowly, like making the left hand turn, my daughter's like, why are you slowing up? No one's here, And I'm just like kind of got like a pit in my stomach, like, and no one's going to be here for a long long time.

Get help us on it, because we a lot of folks consider you the lucky one. Your house is still standing, correct, but you don't have any hopes of living in that house for how long? This is not like you can go back home any time.

Even if we go back home, right, even if we are able to get a hazmat team and clean it all up and all that stuff. Let's just say we are and our neighbors who we have, you know, a really great relationship with there's about eight couples so to speak, that all hang out. Even if we are able to go back home, we're the only ones there. And they're schools.

It's we drove through and in fact, we drove down the street where you have two businesses correct that don't exist anymore?

Correct?

Yeah, so you know we say I'm the lucky one, right, I am lucky because I have my memorabilia. Still it's all disgusting and gross, but we'll be able to get back to it. But my wife and I owned four yogurt chops, now two, actually we had three. We had four. Two of them burned down completely. One of them is an evacuation zone and was looted on Wednesday night. So my god, just kick us when we're down. And you know, people ask us, how do you feel about that? And

Now how many employees now?

We have about fifteen employees. See, that's a big part of the story.

I think it's missing. Sometimes they're right.

We could actually Hollywood Hills Palace folks here, I think rich folks.

All of these plays.

We see all these businesses that those folks do not have a job.

Correct.

All of these neighborhoods. There's landscaping, there are gardeners, there are a housekeep. There are all kinds of folks whose job and we don't live anywhere close. Jobs gone that livelood's gone.

To that point, TJ. You know we were talking. I was talking to a friend yesterday and my not to sound obnoxious, but our cleaning lady comes once a week. We have again, we have three kids, four dogs, and two cats.

We need this.

We give her two hundred dollars a week. She does five other homes around us. That's two hundred dollars a week per five homes is one thousand dollars. That's fifty two thousand dollars a year. She is not getting anymore. She's not getting it anymore. We're paying our employees or the Yorgre chop out of our own our own money. It's gonna run out eventually, so we have a GoFundMe for them. But at this point it's like, I can't let these people go hungry. They have to pay their

There's an endless supply to it, or that you have the money to actually rebuild exactly. And your son has quite the escape story.

Yeah, we didn't introduce yes, Jesse, Jesse, you don't have it's four dollars and three kids are three dogs.

It's too many. I can't three kids. It's okay, all right, but yeah, Jesse said how old are you?

First of all?

Oh wow, yeah, he's and.

Are you six five six three?

Just a better version of me?

We saw the video of you with your mom and your sister or your sister's friend and I think all of your animals in the vehicle. But can you describe what that was like fleeing your home that was and everything around you was on fire.

Well, I mean we've seen fires before.

We had it on a couple of years ago.

We had to drive up it and I was like, I didn't really think anything of it. But then now when we're thinking, like we lost two of our younger shops and we're like that we never thought and like anything that would ever happen. So we were driving out, was like, that's just another fire, nothing's really gonna happen. And now I was thinking about it's like something really did happen.

Wait a minute, you said, And again I talked to so many folks here in La. They grow up when you called them fire days. I'm sitting here looking at our producer. But how did you know again from the video we were looking at even as you were driving out, did you think, okay, just with another fire and it'll be fine, or did you know something was different?

Well, we've driven through there where there's a fire before in our house was perfectly fine, and no, and thankfully it still is.

But I don't know.

I didn't really think anything of it because the fire started like right at the top and it grew down around So I don't know, I don't really like it doesn't didn't really fear real like. It didn't like I was like, I knew it was like my home and it was around me, but it didn't feel like it was around me at the same time.

But it felt hot. It felt warm in the car, you said.

The whole car, everone was sweating. We couldn't turn in the AC because of the air. Still smells bad in the car, and we couldn't turn these seas it was hot.

We could see everything. It didn't smell that well, it wasn't.

Yeah, it was a rough car right down.

You were surrounded by flames. I saw the video. You were you you please tell me you were frightened. You were scared, Like I can't imagine thinking, oh, just another fire day. You had flames and black smoke all around you, and your car was heating up from the heat from the fire.

No, it's definitely nerve wrecking knowing that like one of these could easily land on our car and something could happen, especially with all our dogs and everyone around us.

I don't know it was.

It was a scary time, but we got through it and we got down and we were safe.

No, okay, And folks, the chillness of his voice blas the fear and anxiety that I even felt watching his video. If it's right, we're going to try to post his video to see what we're talking about here. But it's incredible to see that and Dad, as all this is going on, Yes, you got employees to think about, but you got a good sized family to think about. And I know you will have fire days. Been through this before, when did it feel different? And you actually thought my family.

Is in danger?

So I don't know if people realize this, but the fire actually started January first, in terms of like when I was getting nervous, I was coming from Burbank from the iHeart offices, and my daughter was picked up from school from my wife's best friend, who also lost her house. But she picked her up because my wife couldn't get there because they were sheltered in place, so she said to her friend, can you get her bring her to

Ever.

I make her right onto sunset. My daughter goes, Daddy, look back, that's bad, right. I look back and the entire Palisades is up in flames, and I'm like, holy, she goes, Daddy. Can't say that. I'm like, no, I can say that right now, I can say that, and I'm like I can And I was like nervous because I wanted to hurry up, but like didn't want to. I'm like, Jamie, just look ahead, just look ahead, goes why. I'm like, just look ahead because I don't want that

Ever?

Ever?

Like, you're kidding me.

I'm like, I've never I find you safe. But those are the things you have to joke about, right, So anyways would say, oh, that's a cute story. We need that kind of yeah, and real human stories.

That is great. The place is on.

Fire, now, my little lemon, come on. So she they're like face timing me as they're going down, and she's like, I can't do this right now, give the photos, and like I was, I didn't mean to be fighting with her, but I just wanted to know that they were safe the entire time. And I'm like, just face timey so I can see. So he faced timey for few and I'm like and I had a pit in my stomach. I'm like, oh, this this is not this is not real.

And how was he on the FaceTime? Was he calm? Was he?

I think he kept yelling at me to like show that, show the camera everything.

I was like, I'm trying to get out. He was like, show me the flames. I want to see, Like I was just trying to get out, so I want to see how close it really was. Like I go back for my good shorts.

Get I don't like those either.

She didn't bring me shoes. Oh, we had to go to coals and get a pair of sneakers that were two sizes too big.

But do you think you know to what you're describing? Because everyone's so used to this thread of fire. Even if you saw a fire, people didn't imagine it could get as bad as it got as quickly as it did.

There's no way anybody thought it would get as bad as it did. There's no way. And then you see some of the because remember that night, there was no cameras there. There's no aerial view because the planes were not flying over. So we were like, well, what's happening? And then all of a sudden you see some instagram of people's ring cameras of the flames, Like, holy sh Now, I get why the whole tide place is burned down.

What's the plan now? Moving back to New York?

Oh, I would never I listen. I love I love being from New York. I love saying I'm from New York. I love the badge of honor of being a New Yorker. I was there last week for the two weeks ago for the holidays, and I'm glad to be back here, even without a house to be in, even though our house is standing. I love la I love the city. It has been my dream to move here since I'm very very young. We're going to rebuild, and I know

You use the word rebuild versus just clean out. Do you are you going to have to tear your house?

And we don't know about that information to tell you the truth, like we I could say no, it looks great, and then somebody can come by and be like, oh no, you can't live there. We don't know, right, you know, I've work in advertising. I don't work in that world

And I mean, I'm curious. We've heard a few people mention it, but is there any sort of survivor's guilt the fact that your house is intact and others are not, a lot of folks have talked about feeling almost guilty that they didn't suffer the same fate.

Oh, absolutely right, Like you look at it and someone's like, oh, how's your house. It's okay, Oh okay, and then that's it.

Yeah.

I'm like right, I'm we're still displaced. Yeah, we're still out. We still don't know what's going on. But it's not about me. It's not about my guilt. This is not about that at all. It's about the community. It's about the fact that my son can't go to school for the rest of the year. My daughter's school's burned down to crisp, my youngest and my oldest school with him. They can't do their sports, they can't see their friends. Some of their friends are in San Diego, somewhere in Colorado.

And you're looking forward to that moment. It sounds like that day, which is years and years down the road, but you've seen as a New Yorker, you see such a proud member of the Palasades.

Yeah, I so am being the yogurt shops have done so much for the community, giving back to the community, giving back to charities, giving back to the sports. We would have happy hours where people come in and we donated portion back. So like the shops are the community, it is the community, and then we've only done well because of the community. So I wanted to be the first thing back in the community and make sure that everybody knows like we're back and you're going to.

Be back to We wish you the very best. Thank you for sharing your stories and we're just so happy everyone in your family, pets included Roka, Thank you so much.

Thank you.

We are joining now by Tyler Florence, a celebrity cheff at restaurant tour who has been very busy.

Tyler, you give us an idea.

You came here to La to help out, but give us your impressions once you got here, of the people you interacted with and the things that you saw.

Well, you know, living in California for the last eighteen years, you start to understand the California is a beautiful place. It's also a little fragile. We get extreme weather, we get fires, we get earthquakes, we get these things that other parts of the world in the country don't really have to deal with, although Florida does get their fair share of hurricanes. You know, we have now an extended fire season that almost kind of goes you around, which

Santa Monicipedi.

We had seven food trucks lined up, you know, feeding hundreds and hundreds of first responders. So it felt like it feels like you know, as remember you know, of California, this is just kind of what we do.

We have a big open heart.

We love our state and we love our rescue people, and when disaster happens, we re lean in.

And that's exactly over day.

Yeah, and Tyler, it's so incredible to see the work that you have done with World Central Kitchen and the mission you all have around the world, but when it's this close to home, it has to have a much more special impact, at least knowing that these are your friends, these are your colleagues, these are the people who you are.

It really does.

We have lots of friends in Los Angeles, you know, I've been shooting and filming with through network from here for twenty five thirty years there, and you know, lots of friends inside the restaurant industry. You know, LA is one of the greatest food cities in the world, so lots of great chefs here, and so the community hits home for me in a couple different directions.

It's the hospitality industry, it's also the entertainment industry.

So lots of friends, lots of people that are impacted in a couple different communities.

So yeah, it definitely home to four.

But with World Central Kitchen, I mean, this is the organization that I think a lot of people should be paying attention to. They're faster than FEMA. Not that FEMA doesn't do more once they get on the ground, because of course they do. But I think that immediate emergency relief of just having hot, live food available, no one does it better than World Central Kitchen. So I think it's a really important opportunity for people to give back and so if you go to WCK dot o rg's

Thank you for that, because so many people are looking for ways to help, and yes, that is a wonderful organization to your point, and they do need food out here. Sai's minor. We talk about water, we talk about equipment, but yes, we've got to feed a lot of these guys and gals we're helping. We're gonna let you go here, but give me the lasting, Give me the one thing that stood out that maybe you're going to be thinking

So yesterday we when we were set up at Command Central on the Pacific Coast Highway at Will Roger State Park in the Palace itdes we loaded up our car with a few hundred portions of chicken tenders and burritos and tacos from a few other food trucks that were there, and we drove deep up into the hills to go find fire trucks and fire companies that were almost like hand to hand combat putting.

House fires out. For two days.

They had not slept for two days, and they had not had a meal in two days, and so finding them and handing them a warm burrito, and to see the look on their face with somebody, I'll never forget. It's the reason we do this, and it's the reason that I think the hospitality industry cares so much.

This is what we do. We open up our hearts in our restaurants every single night.

We know how to feed people, we know how to run a team, we know how to get food on the ground fast. And so it was that moment where you know, if you go to my Instagram story it's still come up right now you can kind of see some firefighters Tyler Florence on Instagram.

You'll get a chance to see it. But I'll never forget that as well.

They won't forget it either, Tyler. And so thank you on behalf of the folks who are fighting the fires and doing so many things to just ensure the safety not just of people but of property. I know they're so grateful for you and all of your efforts. So thank you for joining us and sharing that with us. We appreciate it.

Thanks not take care for you back you