Help Ashley Clements and Brendan Bradley Rebuild After Fire

When I received an alert about a “fast moving fire in your area” on the evening of January 7th, I looked out our east facing bedroom window and saw flames on the hillside propelled by hurricane force Santa Ana winds. I didn’t need to be told to evacuate. I left with just a backpack, grabbing some essential items, but forgetting a lot of things I would later regret. Brendan was volunteering at a labor conference in Las Vegas, so we both only had a backpack worth of belongings. On the morning of the 8th, he watched the structure next to ours burn down on the news.

As the fires raged on, we tried to check on our home, but it was behind a police (and then military) barricade for over a week. When we finally learned our building was still standing, we thought we'd somehow been spared from this enormous tragedy. It was only as we learned more about the toxicity of urban wildfire smoke and ash that we began to understand that our home is not safe to live in, and most of our belongings are irrecoverable.

Our apartment is inside the fire perimeter, among thousands of old homes and vehicles that were engulfed in flame. All of Altadena is covered in ash. Most of it is gone. When we were finally able to enter our home and assess the damage, we found ash blown in through every poorly sealed window and door, and absolutely everything, even things in drawers and cabinets, reeked of smoke. That smoke and ash are full of carcinogens like asbestos, lead, benzene, and other dangerous chemicals. The times we have returned, in full hazmat suits, to retrieve what might be salvageable, we’ve experienced headaches, dizziness, nausea, and the taste of metal in our mouths.

Still, we continued to make short trips, trying to salvage as much as could be saved. We did all of this in my little Honda Fit. Damage that occurred during the fires trapped Brendan’s car, and we don’t know when we'll be able to recover it, or if it will be recoverable considering it was even less protected from the smoke and ash.

The entire area is under a “Do Not Use” order from the water company. The nearest pump station burned to the ground, so it will likely be a long time before there is drinkable water.

Still, it wasn’t until a FEMA inspector declared our home “not safe to live in” that we really accepted it couldn’t be our home anymore.

We know there are so many who have lost everything, and we consider ourselves lucky to have been able to recover passports and other important documents, as well as some irreplaceable items of sentimental value. But we still find ourselves homeless with a very uncertain future.

Throughout this surreal, terrifying time, we have been so comforted by the community that has risen to help us and all those affected. From friends who gave us a temporary place to stay, to others who donated necessities, to experts who offered advice on our rights and safety, and to the volunteers across the county taking time to help.

The most humbling realization in all of this is that we did not build a home here in Los Angeles, we built a community. The rest are just *things* and while there are a lot *things* to replace, we are beyond grateful for you, and for your help and support as we rebuild.