Help Mindy Rebuild Her Life After The Palisades Fire

My dear friend Mindy Nye lost her small apartment and all her possessions in the Palisades fire. All the funds collected will be deposited directly from GoFundMe into Mindy's bank account to help cover needs not met by other sources of aid.

Here is Mindy's story in her own words:

On the afternoon of Tuesday, January 7, I found myself working with 24 children when the evacuations first started.

I teach Transitional Kindergarten (ages 4 and 5) at Ocean Charter School in Marina Del Rey. The children could see the huge smoke clouds off in the distance as they played outside. One little girl asked me “Where is the fire?” As I pulled up my map on Watch Duty, I saw that much of the Palisades was covered in a red evacuation colored area. I told her, “The fire is many miles that way.” Something about that must have eased their minds because I heard many other children tell their classmates, that “the fire is many miles that way” as they waved their hands off in the distance.

I was able to leave school at 2:15pm and although evacuations for my neighborhood had started around noon, I discovered that a friend of mine still had not left her condo.

She had been texting me saying that Sunset Mesa (my neighborhood) had been evacuated, but I wasn’t there so there wasn’t much I could do. Then she said that she wasn’t having any luck getting an Uber out of the evacuation area (she doesn’t have a car) and asked if I could come pick her up. Most of her condo complex had left in their own cars a few hours earlier.

I headed toward the Palisades after work and the smoke just got thicker the closer I got. I knew my conscience wouldn’t let me alone if I didn’t make every effort to pick up my friend who was stuck. I made it to Sunset & Chautauqua, but the road was blocked off. They sent me down to the PCH and at that intersection of PCH & Chautauqua I tried to turn right towards the Palisades but the police officer waved me to go left. I put my window down and said that I needed to go get “my mother” that didn’t have a car. He said, “I’m so sorry but I can only let emergency vehicles in.” When I showed him the address I was trying to get to on Sunset, he said, “I really can’t let you go there because Fire Station 23 across the street just burned down.”

My heart sank, I didn’t know if my friend would find a way out. Tears rolled down my face as the emergency vehicles sped by me. I begrudgingly turned left away from my friend’s condo, knowing that I would not be able to get to my own home to retrieve anything. It's hard to say goodbye to the harmonium I loved, my Kriya beads from Brother Satyananda, a Mala made of crystal beads from the Winter Boutique, a lock of Master's hair, and all my SRF books.

I am happy to report that my friend did make it out safely. There was one neighbor left in the building and he had a car. He called her when he realized she was the last one left and said, “Get down to the garage, we are getting out of here!” The area by 3:00pm had become almost unbreathable.

There is a chance that her building is still standing. I, however, was not so lucky. I lost everything that I had gathered over the years. My furry friend Bella was also lost in the fires because I could not get home in time. I posted a notice on Nextdoor with the hope that she will be found and given another nice home if we are unable to be reunited. I will miss that sweet girl.

I’m staying at hotels and at a friend’s house for the time being, but it will be nice to have my own bed and pillow again. I wish you and your families love and protection in these upcoming days. Despite these dire circumstances, it will bring us closer together.

I live paycheck to paycheck on 29 hours a week with no benefits. My savings are depleted and my financial situation was already precarious. Any help will be tremendously appreciated. Bless you for your generosity.

My friends are giving me shirts and shoes out of their closets and I’m trying to make the best of the situation. It’s a blessing to be part of Guru’s family and such a supportive community.