Brad Auerbach has felt the burn of
the fires, but not as bad as most.
The fires forced more than 1,400
people from their homes and
Auerbach, 50, who lives outside of
Santa Monica with his wife and
two daughters, was not one of
them.
However, he has been as close
as 20 miles away from the fire
and he said he has definitely felt
the effects.
“I was at a Halloween party at a
friend’s house last Sunday,” he
explained. “The winds from the
fire were so intense that it blew
the tents completely away and
knocked over all the booze.”
The fires have left 14 dead, more
than 100 firefighters and 27 civilians
injured, and more than 2,000
homes destroyed. With multiple
fires burning, California was in
danger.
Former CA resident Phil Coles,
25, has grandparents in San Diego
County. They had to evacuate and
move north to Anaheim, an hour
and a half away. In San Diego
County, there were nine fires,
which all except one are reported
to now be 100 percent contained.
“My grandfather owns a carpet
cleaning business and he had to
call many of his customers to let
them know he won’t be making it
because of the fires,” said Coles.
“A few years ago I was there after
the fires and [the state] was like a
giant ashtray. The freeways were
shut down and charred.”
The bravest firefighters have
helped contain one of the largest
wildfires California has ever seen.
Auerbach and his family have
lived all over California, first living
in Los Angeles, then moving to
San Diego, then back to Los Angeles.
Their first home in Los Angeles
was nearly destroyed by the
fires.
“I constantly saw the smoke, and
my family and I had a lot of cancellations
and postpone of events,” he
said. “I had heard from our old
neighbors that they were forced to
evacuate and stay in hotels.”
Though fires, earthquakes, and
other natural disasters occur from
time to time, nothing will compromise
his views on living in California.
“I don’t feel the need to move,
these are natural occurrences,
besides the fact that some of these
fires were arsons,” Auerbach said.
“These fires happen every 50 to
100 years, it’s the documented
truth.”
A$250,000 reward was offered
for information on the arsonist
linked to starting the Santiago
wildfire and recent reports show
that a small boy playing with
matches is responsible for the
Buckweed wildfire that destroyed
38,000 acres and 21 homes.