1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand. 2 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:11,640 Speaker 2: KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 2: This is La Fires. One year later on Michael Monks 4 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 2: from KFI News, the investigation into last January's wildfires now 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 2: includes federal lawmakers from outside California. Kfi's Jason Campedonia has 6 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:24,479 Speaker 2: that story. 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 3: California and Florida are similar when it comes to natural disasters. 8 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 3: Florida has hurricanes and California burns almost every year, just 9 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 3: like clockwork. Former Florida governor and now Republican Florida Senator 10 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,480 Speaker 3: Rick Scott has launched a federal investigation into what went 11 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 3: wrong and what went right during and after the wildfires 12 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 3: a year ago that left the cities of the Pacific 13 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 3: Palisades and Altadena nothing but piles of rubble. 14 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 4: I just heard about, you. 15 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 5: Know, the victims, and had gone through lots of disasters, 16 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 5: dealt with disasters when I was governor Florida. 17 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 4: We had four hurricanes. 18 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 5: And with some flighting things like that, And what you 19 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 5: kept hearing is that no one would give these victims 20 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:10,960 Speaker 5: any information. I all went wrong, shooting, maybe held accountable. 21 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 5: What could they do better? How to make sure this 22 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,120 Speaker 5: doesn't happen again. So I figured with my background, I 23 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 5: would be able to help. 24 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 3: And then reality TV show star and Meltdown King from 25 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 3: the MTV show The Hills, Spencer Pratt entered the chat, not. 26 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 6: Her friend Roe liar, and I'm going to walk away 27 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 6: from these lives because she's gonna sit here. 28 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:30,200 Speaker 7: And keep hying you. 29 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:32,119 Speaker 8: You're the biggest poser in this town. 30 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 7: You know what you're going to burn for. 31 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 4: I know. 32 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 3: Spencer had a home in the Palisades, and the one 33 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 3: time source for trash TV drama became the sole crusader 34 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 3: for people in his hometown. He was the first to 35 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 3: testify in the federal hearing brought by Senator Scott on 36 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 3: the wildfires. 37 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 6: As you know, my family and I lost our home, 38 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 6: our home and everything we own in the Palisades fire. 39 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 6: It's been ten months and our government leaders, instead of 40 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 6: helping us rebuild, have only served to make the rebuilding 41 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 6: process so painful and slow that many just quit and 42 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 6: are force out of their hometown through attrition. So vultures 43 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 6: like Gavin Newsom and Scott Wiener have a blank slate 44 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 6: to remake the Palisades in the vision of their wealthy 45 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,079 Speaker 6: donors and foreign investors. 46 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 3: The reality show King was able to get Senator Scott's 47 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 3: attention and gave him a tour of the burn areas. 48 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 3: He laid out all of his documents for the Senator 49 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 3: and told him the truth as to why he had 50 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:31,519 Speaker 3: not been able to rebuild. 51 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,920 Speaker 5: So I met Spencer Pratt and so just you know, 52 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 5: my goal is to find out, Okay, so what went wrong? 53 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 4: How can we fix it? And I can tell you. 54 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 5: There's always something you can do better, So we're what 55 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 5: I'm trying to. 56 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 4: Do is just do those things. What went wrong? Shouldn't 57 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 4: baby held accountable? What do we do to make sure 58 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 4: this doesn't happen? 59 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 3: To get Senator Scott says he's trying to talk to 60 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 3: everyone involved with the wildfires, both the response and the cleanup. 61 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 5: We've done letters asking for my information from Mayor Bass, 62 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,839 Speaker 5: the Los Angeles City Council, the Los Angeles Department Water 63 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 5: and Power, the LA Fire Department, to California Parks and Recreations. 64 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 5: At the federal level, we sent a lot of money 65 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 5: on wildfire suppression over the years. 66 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 4: Since I've been asking for information. 67 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 5: From the USDA, the Department Homeland Security, Department Interior, Attorney General, 68 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 5: Department Transportation, Treasury, Sectary, just trying to get better information. 69 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 5: The victims deserve this. We lost twelve seniors. It's like 70 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 5: there's nobody rebuilding hardly, so why can't they get permits? 71 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 4: I mean, this doesn't make sense. 72 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 3: Senator Scott says, while he's trying to talk with everybody 73 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 3: involved with the wildfires, he believes not everybody is being 74 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 3: as forthcoming as they should be as they work to 75 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 3: help the victims of the fires. Are you finding the 76 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 3: agencies that you're contacting here in southern California, the Mayor's office, LAFD, 77 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 3: Are you finding them helpful? 78 00:03:58,080 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 4: It's not the easiest thing in the world. 79 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 5: And Cabinism said he's going to cooperate with us. But 80 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 5: so it's it's not like we're getting nothing, but we're 81 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 5: not getting everything. We do know that we've gotten text 82 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 5: messages from firefighters responded to the Latchman fire warned that 83 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 5: the fire was still smoldering, and I you know, I'm 84 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 5: not a fire fighter, and I'm not an expert, but 85 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 5: I've been you know, we have every so often it 86 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 5: gets try. We have some fires in the Everglades in Florida, 87 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,719 Speaker 5: and you know, they don't leave until it's out. It 88 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 5: doesn't make any sense to me that why the reservoirs 89 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 5: are empty. 90 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 4: And nobody's really explained that well. 91 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 5: And uh so, so you know, we're getting information, but 92 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 5: it's not you know, we don't. 93 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 4: Have everything we've been asked for yet. 94 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 5: So so, but we're gonna get there. We're gonna you know, 95 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 5: we're not We're gonna stay after it. The victims deserve, 96 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 5: you know, they deserve to. 97 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 4: Know what happened. 98 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,479 Speaker 3: California has two senators, Senators Shift from the Burbank area 99 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 3: and Senator Padilla from the Law Angeles area. Scott says 100 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 3: communication between the three of them is limited, and communication 101 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:08,720 Speaker 3: with Governor Gavin Newsom is non existent. Why do you like, 102 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 3: we have two senators here, Senator Shift and Senator Padilla. 103 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 3: Why does it take a senator from three thousand miles 104 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 3: away to come in here and demand answers like? Have 105 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 3: have you talked with Shift? Have you talked with Padilla? 106 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 3: Have you talked with Newsom? 107 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 4: For that matter, I've not talked to new some them and. 108 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 5: I'm you know, I've not talked to Shift or to 109 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 5: Padia about you know, what their interest is. But you know, 110 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 5: every senator pire gets to focus on what they think 111 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 5: is the most important, and I think it's not. This 112 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 5: is not going to be just helpful to the victims 113 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 5: at Pacific Palisage, but this is going to be helpful 114 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 5: any anybody that's dealing with the disaster. 115 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 4: Is how do we how to do this? 116 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 5: So my goal with this at the end is that 117 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,280 Speaker 5: we are able to tell people, Okay, so. 118 00:05:57,560 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 4: This is how do you prevent this from happening? 119 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 3: I asked Scott if he could have one wish granted 120 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 3: when it comes to his investigation, what it might be 121 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:09,039 Speaker 3: if you could ask for one thing. Looking at twenty 122 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 3: twenty six and the future of this investigation, what is 123 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,679 Speaker 3: the biggest thing that you think will hold the key 124 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 3: to the information for you to reach those three goals 125 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:19,560 Speaker 3: that you had mentioned earlier. 126 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 5: I think complete cooperation from everybody we've asked information from, 127 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:28,720 Speaker 5: just to answer everything we ask. Let the chips fall 128 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 5: with him, A knowing that you know, worry that somebody's. 129 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 4: Going to look bad. 130 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 5: You know, if you're if you're a human being, there's 131 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 5: always things you can do better. 132 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:39,479 Speaker 3: The former Florida governor says, in order for victims to 133 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 3: get what they need. There needs to be a streamlined 134 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 3: process of how things are done, not a hodgepodge of 135 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 3: agencies trying to get credit for doing small parts of 136 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 3: the rebuilding process that don't amount to much progress. Quickly, 137 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 3: I spoke to an assemblyman who is a local assemblyman 138 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:59,040 Speaker 3: for the Altadena fire right next to the city of Pasadena, 139 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 3: and he was saying that the lack of rebuilding is 140 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:05,479 Speaker 3: because there's too many there's too many cooks in the kitchen, 141 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 3: and everybody wants credit for whatever they're doing for the 142 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 3: rebuilding process. Do you have any suggestions on how we 143 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 3: can streamline rebuilding efforts here in southern California. 144 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 5: I'm a business guy by background, and you know what 145 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 5: you've got to do is you've got to streamline the 146 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 5: whole process in every state. You've got to really we've 147 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 5: got to put a lot more effort into how do 148 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 5: you drive down the cost of insurance. You know, part 149 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 5: of it's going to be where you don't have a 150 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 5: gazillion permits you have to get. And then number two, 151 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 5: every state's going to haster really focused on how they 152 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 5: get their property insurance rates down, including. 153 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 3: Florida to his credit. Governor Gavin Newsom says that he's 154 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 3: doing the best he can through a website. The new website, 155 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 3: run by the state offers homeowners who had their place 156 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 3: destroyed by the Eaton and Palisades via links to contractors 157 00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 3: and designers that have been reviewed by Quote Trusted Community Partners. 158 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 3: Site also features fifteen builders and vendors for folks who 159 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 3: want a faster approach of getting a home on their 160 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 3: lot with prefab options. Newsom says that rebuilding will take time. 161 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 3: Homeowners can go to Laises dot org slash resources for 162 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 3: more information. Meantime, Senator Scott says he'll be in close 163 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 3: contact with KFI and give information as it comes in 164 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 3: in hopes that more people become more transparent. Jason Campedonia, 165 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 3: KFI News up next. 166 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 2: Rebuilding homes in the burned out areas has been difficult, 167 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 2: even for people whose homes are still standing. 168 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand. 169 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:53,319 Speaker 2: KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iheartredial app. 170 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 2: This is la Fires one year leater. I'm Michael Monks 171 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 2: from KFI News. The rebuilding process has been a challenge, 172 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 2: despite regular updates from government officials about cutting red tape. 173 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 2: Survivors have said it's not moving quickly enough. Kfis Brigida 174 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 2: tia Agostino reports the difficulties include needed repairs for homes 175 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 2: that didn't burn down. 176 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 8: If your house burned, as bad as that is, your 177 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,320 Speaker 8: choice is it's fairly binary. But if your house is 178 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,480 Speaker 8: standing and you have smoke damage, it's a flow chart 179 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:26,439 Speaker 8: that looks like spaghetti. There's no clear path. 180 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 9: After the Palisades and Eaten fires, homeowners like Mark Gorlic 181 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 9: were told they were the lucky ones because their houses 182 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 9: didn't burn down. Many of the homes in the Palisades 183 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 9: Highlands where he lives are still standing, and for the 184 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,840 Speaker 9: families inside them, that's turned out to be a different 185 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 9: kind of problem. 186 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 8: Where we live, seventy five percent of the structures are standing, 187 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 8: but that doesn't mean they're not affected. The condition of 188 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:54,960 Speaker 8: our house is contaminated to such a place that it's 189 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 8: not safe to live in. 190 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 9: Contractors and homeowners say these standing homes are often contaminated 191 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:05,559 Speaker 9: by toxic smoke, ash and chemicals released when entire canyons burned. 192 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 10: They're insurance companies are delaying settlement, denying coverage and significantly 193 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 10: under estimating the proper scope of repair to make the 194 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 10: environment a healthy, clean environment to live in. 195 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:27,040 Speaker 9: Again, the homes are in limbo. 196 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 10: These houses have sat untouched since January. They are still 197 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:35,680 Speaker 10: covered in soot and dust. 198 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,199 Speaker 9: In cases like these, homeowners are often directed to bring 199 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 9: in industrial hygienists. Some are hired independently and others are 200 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 9: chosen by insurance companies. 201 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 10: They come in and they take samples of the dust 202 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 10: and ash, and they'll probe into areas like wall cavities, 203 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 10: and they'll inspect under the floor and in the attic, 204 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,000 Speaker 10: and they tape lift samples and so forth, and take 205 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,680 Speaker 10: the dust samples to a lab. 206 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 9: Those tests often reveal carcinogens. 207 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 10: These houses are almost all contaminated with lead and asbestos, 208 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 10: so that it's a hazardous environment certainly to live in. 209 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 9: But insurers repeatedly push for surface level remediation. 210 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,640 Speaker 10: What they want to do is send a cleaning company 211 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 10: out and wet wipe surfaces, and in some cases they 212 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 10: even have proposed shampooing carpets and running machinery that sort 213 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 10: of masks of odor, any sort of porous surface insulation 214 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:50,559 Speaker 10: in the walls, any sort of a fabric and so 215 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 10: you can't really clean those surfaces. You have to remove 216 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 10: them and dispose of them. 217 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 9: That process can cost six figures and still fail. 218 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 10: You might spend one hundred and twenty one hundred and 219 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 10: thirty thousand dollars to clean the house and sixty percent 220 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 10: of them are still contaminated. 221 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 9: That's because the only proven fix is to strip contaminated 222 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:11,920 Speaker 9: homes back down to the studs. 223 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:16,319 Speaker 10: The framing of the walls has to be dry ice 224 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 10: blasted and then hepa vacuumed. Then you apply like a 225 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 10: shellac over the wood framing, and then you have it 226 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 10: tested again, and if it tests clean, then you've just 227 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:29,560 Speaker 10: rebuild the house. 228 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,320 Speaker 9: But homeowners say insurers often pressure them to accept cleaning 229 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:38,480 Speaker 9: as the final solution, even when independent testing suggests deeper contamination, 230 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 9: and for those who push back, the consequences can be financial. 231 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 10: The insurance companies have kind of been bullying people. They're 232 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 10: starting to say to some of them, hey, pretty soon 233 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 10: we're going to stop paying your additional living expenses if 234 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 10: you don't make some progress towards getting back in your house. 235 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:59,559 Speaker 9: There are also real health risks if contamination isn't properly addressed. 236 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 10: You know, some things cause cancer and are known to 237 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:08,439 Speaker 10: be carcinogens, and others like blood can cause learning disabilities 238 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:10,960 Speaker 10: and children and when they're exposed to it and it 239 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 10: poisoned your blood, and they can just cause all kinds 240 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 10: of problems. 241 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 9: Mark Gorlic is one of many homeowners caught in the uncertainty. 242 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 8: I can go visit my house and I can water 243 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:24,680 Speaker 8: the plants and get the mail, but we can't live 244 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 8: there until it's been properly remediated. 245 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 9: Gorlick's insurer is California fair Plan, the state's insurer of 246 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 9: last resort. He says he was forced onto fair Plan 247 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:39,079 Speaker 9: after other insurers declined to renew coverage just months before 248 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 9: the fire. How contamination is tested and how results are 249 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 9: interpreted has become a central dispute. That's because independent industrial 250 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 9: hygienists typically take targeted samples to identify contamination hotspots. Fair 251 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 9: Plan relies on a composite testing method that blends samples together, 252 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 9: and approach critics say can mask higher levels of contaminae. 253 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:04,840 Speaker 8: This is the composite method of testing for metals and toxins. 254 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 8: Because of the protocol, it's virtually guaranteed to show a 255 00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 8: lower level of toxicity than is truly there, because it 256 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 8: allows Fair Plan to then say, well, it just needs 257 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,800 Speaker 8: to be cleaned, when that might not be true. 258 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 9: Cleaning, he says, isn't even covered under his policy. 259 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 8: I don't want you to clean my house. What I 260 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 8: want you to do is return it to its pre 261 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 8: lost condition. 262 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:35,520 Speaker 9: He says, Fair Plan sent him a small check based 263 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 9: on an estimate that didn't reflect the true damage. 264 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,200 Speaker 8: If you go on our attic, it looks like a 265 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 8: coal miner's lung. It's about two and a half times 266 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 8: the cost to properly fix the attic, just the attic, 267 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 8: forget about the rest of the house than what they 268 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 8: send us a check for. 269 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 9: Across his neighborhood, homeowners are taking wildly different approaches. 270 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,400 Speaker 8: There was dumpsters full of sheet rock, and then there 271 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,680 Speaker 8: was furniture, and then there's one with concrete. Some people 272 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 8: may be getting it funded by the insurance, and other 273 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 8: people like us, are just landlocked. We don't know what 274 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 8: to do. 275 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,360 Speaker 9: The problem goes beyond individual claims. Court rulings in Los 276 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 9: Angeles have found portions of California Fair Plans policy language 277 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 9: illegal when it comes to smoke damage. Rulings that said 278 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 9: the insurer short changed wildfire victims. 279 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:28,440 Speaker 8: Our insurance commissioner is not holding the California Fair Plan 280 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 8: to the responsibility of living up to acting in good 281 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 8: faith and doing the right thing. And until that happens, 282 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 8: California Fair Plan is getting a pass by Ricardo Lara 283 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 8: until Gavin Newsom watched down the hall and says, this 284 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 8: is your last day. You're going to go find another job. 285 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 8: And I got to put somebody in here that's going 286 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 8: to have the accountability and the responsibility fall on Fair 287 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 8: Plan so that these people can get help. Until that happens, 288 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 8: we're going to all be in to infinite loop of doom. 289 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 9: A year after the fires, Gorlic still doesn't know when 290 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 9: or if he'll be able to safely move back home. 291 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 8: We're forgotten. 292 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 9: Brigitta Agostino, KFI News up next. 293 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 2: LA's signature industry, already hammered by COVID and multiple strikes, 294 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 2: was dealt another blow when the wildfires erupted last year. 295 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand. 296 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,240 Speaker 2: KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app 297 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 2: This is La Fires. One year later. I'm Michael Monks 298 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 2: from KFI News. Last year's fires destroyed homes large and small, 299 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 2: belonging to the wealthy and lower income, the famous and 300 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,680 Speaker 2: the unknown. In Hollywood, well known celebrities lost their houses, 301 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,120 Speaker 2: and so did people whose names you might not know, 302 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 2: but whose work you do. After the COVID pandemic of 303 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:05,680 Speaker 2: twenty twenty, the Writers and Actors strikes of twenty twenty three, 304 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:08,800 Speaker 2: the Hollywood industry was already reeling oky. If I just 305 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:12,000 Speaker 2: had the Brooker reports. The wildfires of January twenty twenty 306 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,520 Speaker 2: five have only made things worse for LA's signature industry. 307 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 11: Sure Fire Hollywood has made a career out of disaster movies, firestorms, earthquakes, 308 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:25,959 Speaker 11: cities reduced to rubble, all neatly wrapped up in two hours, 309 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,200 Speaker 11: scored with music and ending with survival. But one year 310 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 11: ago the disaster was in fiction. 311 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 2: It was real life. 312 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:37,480 Speaker 12: Right before noon, I started getting alerts for like sensor 313 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,919 Speaker 12: failure or tampers and sensor failure, and I was like, Okay, 314 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 12: this is not good. 315 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:45,640 Speaker 11: Christopher Futerorich is a film and TV composer and musician 316 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:47,960 Speaker 11: who lives in Alta, Dina. He's worked on music for 317 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 11: films like Kyote Ugly and was in the process of 318 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 11: scoring a Netflix show. When the fires started. 319 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 12: The neighborhood was just decimated. It was just like houses 320 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 12: still on fire. How's it gone small during ruins? Just 321 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:05,360 Speaker 12: you know, trees down, power lines down. I've never been 322 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:08,440 Speaker 12: in a war zone, but maybe it was a war zone. 323 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:11,400 Speaker 12: It was just it was mind boggling just to process. 324 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:13,159 Speaker 11: Chris and his partner and he had to make a 325 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 11: quick escape when the fires moved in and destroyed their home, 326 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 11: including his studio and all his instruments. 327 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,639 Speaker 12: Me and my writing partner, Rosie, we have a little 328 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 12: synthpop band that we put music out on, and then 329 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,000 Speaker 12: we also had scored a couple of seasons of a 330 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:32,159 Speaker 12: Netflix show, and so it was just like all that creativity, 331 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:34,399 Speaker 12: all the instruments that I had collected over the past 332 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 12: thirty forty years, just all that stuff was just gone. 333 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 11: And another layer of complication to an already difficult situation. 334 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,919 Speaker 11: Chris had been diagnosed with cancer just a few weeks 335 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:44,880 Speaker 11: before the fires. 336 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:47,600 Speaker 12: There was like little bursts of creativity here and there, 337 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:50,160 Speaker 12: but I just was not in the headspace to even 338 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:51,760 Speaker 12: like just deal with that. 339 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 11: The only thing bringing him comfort was one of his 340 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,960 Speaker 11: favorite songs, whichital Linemen by Glenn Campbell. 341 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:59,560 Speaker 7: I am a love for the count. 342 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,600 Speaker 12: Obviously, the lyrics have absolutely nothing to do with the 343 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,879 Speaker 12: firing like that, but whenever that comes on, that always 344 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:07,240 Speaker 12: makes me very happy, he says. 345 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:09,960 Speaker 11: For months after the fires, his work stopped, and so 346 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:14,359 Speaker 11: did in music. Feudorich wasn't alone. Thousands of industry workers 347 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:16,879 Speaker 11: who lived in the Palisades and Altadena had no place 348 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 11: to live. The work stopped, while many people trying to 349 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:21,000 Speaker 11: put their lives back together. 350 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:25,200 Speaker 13: Hundreds of people that work in the industry lost their homes, 351 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 13: and that provided just another gut punch to an industry 352 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:31,040 Speaker 13: that was already reeling. 353 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:33,679 Speaker 11: Meg James is an entertainment reporter for the La Times 354 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 11: and covered the fires. She says, although no studio lawns 355 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,399 Speaker 11: or sound stages were affected, the people who make the 356 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:41,560 Speaker 11: movies in television were hit the hardest. 357 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 14: And I think practically, you know, because there were so 358 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,680 Speaker 14: many people in the Palisades that lost their homes. There 359 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,720 Speaker 14: were a tremendous amount of people in Altadena, so you know, 360 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,240 Speaker 14: musicians actor in so many ways. 361 00:19:55,400 --> 00:20:00,400 Speaker 13: It was not like an economic loss to the industry, say, 362 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 13: but it was psychologically just really devastating. 363 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 11: Even before the fires, Film and TV production in LA 364 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 11: was near a record low. Squeezed by studio cutbacks and 365 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 11: competition from other states, jobs were disappearing. Some workers were 366 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:20,200 Speaker 11: already leaving. Then the Palisades burned and hours later Alta Dina. 367 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:23,160 Speaker 11: The fires caused an estimated seventy six to one hundred 368 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 11: and thirty one billion dollars in damage, hitting an industry 369 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 11: that still supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. Many now 370 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 11: struggling to rebuild or move on. 371 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:37,399 Speaker 13: As we approached the one year anniversary of these just 372 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 13: horrific fires, I think the long term costs and the 373 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 13: changes to the industry are not yet calculated. 374 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,960 Speaker 15: The fire's effect on production extended well beyond the areas 375 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 15: that immediately burned. 376 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:55,760 Speaker 11: Philip Sakolowski with Film LA says historic filming locations, places 377 00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 11: that had appeared on screens for decades were also destroyed. 378 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:02,280 Speaker 15: They were five hundred and four five unique locations filmed 379 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 15: in those territories and the five years prior, so we 380 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:07,880 Speaker 15: know that some significant locations were lost. 381 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,879 Speaker 11: Sakolowski says. With a new film and TV tax credit underway, 382 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,199 Speaker 11: he's hopeful that twenty twenty six will get off to 383 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 11: a better start for people who need work. 384 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 15: There are new projects coming online every day, and we 385 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:19,760 Speaker 15: would hope to see in twenty twenty six a lot 386 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:21,920 Speaker 15: more film work return so that we can fully put 387 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 15: this chapter behind. 388 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:25,719 Speaker 11: Us, A chapter that reminds us of how deeply intertwined 389 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,720 Speaker 11: Hollywood is with its neighborhoods, and many people, like Chris Puterich, 390 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 11: are choosing to rebuild if they can't. 391 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:35,360 Speaker 12: I am hopeful for the future. I'm excited for the actual. 392 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 2: Rebuild, he says. 393 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,160 Speaker 11: He and Annie are staying because this is where their 394 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 11: stories are rooted. This is where his cancer went into 395 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 11: remission and he started to work again. 396 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:48,640 Speaker 12: Remission from non Hodgkin's lymphoma and no evidence of disease 397 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:50,720 Speaker 12: for the Squamas cell carcinoma. 398 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:52,719 Speaker 4: That is amazing happening. 399 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 7: I'm so glad to hear that. 400 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:56,800 Speaker 12: Yeah, I'm very happy with the outcome as well. 401 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,399 Speaker 11: You can rebuild a business, you can rewrite a script, 402 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,280 Speaker 11: but rebuilding a community takes time, and in the city 403 00:22:04,359 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 11: that tells the world stories, this one isn't over yet. 404 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:10,240 Speaker 7: It's still love. 405 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,119 Speaker 11: Heatherbrooker KFI News. 406 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 2: As the community is destroyed by the wildfires, pave a 407 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,680 Speaker 2: path forward, some residents have thrown up their hands. They've 408 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 2: sold their now vacant lots and moved on. A new 409 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,679 Speaker 2: report from the real estate company Redfinn has found roughly 410 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,439 Speaker 2: forty percent of all those lots that have sold have 411 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:32,199 Speaker 2: gone to investors looking to profit off property in the Palisades, 412 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:36,400 Speaker 2: Altadena and Malibu. The report found in the Palisades, investors 413 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 2: purchased forty eight of the one hundred and nineteen lots 414 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:41,920 Speaker 2: sold in just the third quarter of last year. In 415 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,879 Speaker 2: Altadena it was twenty seven out of sixty one lots 416 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:48,560 Speaker 2: going to investors, and in Malibu nineteen out of forty three. 417 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:51,919 Speaker 2: Some residents of those communities have urged their neighbors not 418 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 2: to sell, to stay and to rebuild together, expressing worry 419 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 2: that investors could sit on the vacant lots indefinitely. Redfinn 420 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,280 Speaker 2: says there's now a pile up of land for sale, 421 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:05,800 Speaker 2: more than three hundred lots available in the Palisades compared 422 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 2: to just seven before the fires, and two hundred and 423 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 2: twenty five in Alta Dina compared to two a year earlier. 424 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:16,760 Speaker 1: You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand. 425 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:28,159 Speaker 2: KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app 426 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,399 Speaker 2: This is La Fires. One year later. I'm Michael Monks 427 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 2: from KFI News. When the wildfires broke out in southern 428 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 2: California last January, thousands of people were left without anything. 429 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:40,760 Speaker 2: People from all walks of life saw their lives turned 430 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,280 Speaker 2: upside down, and folks from all over the place stood 431 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:45,439 Speaker 2: up to help as best they could. One of the 432 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 2: organizations people turned to was the Dream Center, which helped 433 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 2: in the very earliest stages of this tragedy to help 434 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 2: get people some sort of comfort. Kfi's Amy King revisits 435 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 2: the center a year later. 436 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:03,440 Speaker 16: As we land on one year since the devastating fires, 437 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:06,680 Speaker 16: Yeah that tore through Altadena on the Palisades. We wanted 438 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 16: to come back to Dream Center because Dream Center was 439 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:15,439 Speaker 16: so instrumental in helping so many people who lost everything 440 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,760 Speaker 16: in literally the blink of an eye. So Pastor Matthew, 441 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 16: thank you for taking some time. 442 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:20,959 Speaker 17: To talk to us today. 443 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:21,720 Speaker 7: Thank you. 444 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 16: Let's look back at a year ago, and immediately the 445 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,679 Speaker 16: fires started on the night of the seventh. They raged 446 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:36,720 Speaker 16: on the eighth, and then people who just lost everything 447 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:39,000 Speaker 16: started to show up and say, I don't know what 448 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:42,720 Speaker 16: to do, so talk to me about what people were 449 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:45,159 Speaker 16: feeling at the time because you were here and you 450 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:49,119 Speaker 16: experienced meeting with those people firsthand when they were coming 451 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 16: in literally shell shocked with nothing but the clothes on 452 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 16: their back. 453 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 7: Yeah. 454 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:55,359 Speaker 18: You know, I've been here for thirty one years dealing 455 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:57,680 Speaker 18: with all kinds of things here in LA but that 456 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,240 Speaker 18: thing that hit it was one of the most unbelievable 457 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:03,680 Speaker 18: experiences of my life because we were thrown into action. 458 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 7: You know, we just went to the parking lot. 459 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,280 Speaker 18: We said, what do we have. We have food, we 460 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:09,399 Speaker 18: have resource, we have clothes, we have that. Let's just 461 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 18: throw it out there and make it available and see 462 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 18: what happens. Well, a little did I realize everything seemed 463 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,400 Speaker 18: to happen. You know, nineteen thousand cars came through that line. 464 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,399 Speaker 18: People were showing up and looking for someone to hug. 465 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 18: They were like literally running through the elevators in the 466 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:26,560 Speaker 18: halls here, just like looking for someone to hug and 467 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:28,720 Speaker 18: tell their story to. 468 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 7: And little did I realize that the whole staging. 469 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 18: Ground of nineteen thousand cars would turn into the beginning 470 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,840 Speaker 18: of finding out what people needed, finding out what they 471 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,920 Speaker 18: were going through, finding out Suddenly you became a counselor 472 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:44,120 Speaker 18: you became someone who's trying to process, you know, their 473 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,400 Speaker 18: lives and rebuild their lives. You've been to hear stories 474 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,439 Speaker 18: that they were offering about what they lost in the 475 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,720 Speaker 18: buyers and it was so traumatic and it was so 476 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:57,159 Speaker 18: rewarding to be able to say, maybe I'm in a 477 00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 18: better position in my life right now where I could 478 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,880 Speaker 18: do something for you, and they just have to figure. 479 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:02,359 Speaker 7: It out on the move. 480 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,399 Speaker 18: I mean, there was no sense of great order that 481 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 18: we had because there's no order to this whole catastrophe. 482 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,119 Speaker 18: So we just started and use what we had and 483 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 18: trying into this unbelievable miracle of serving people. But it 484 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:18,239 Speaker 18: is a problem that still goes on today. That's just 485 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:19,520 Speaker 18: so heartbreaking to sea. 486 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:23,640 Speaker 16: Yeah, and when you said you hit and went into 487 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:27,760 Speaker 16: action like you really did, it was amazing because we 488 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:32,680 Speaker 16: were down here and watching the lines of cars coming through, 489 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:34,119 Speaker 16: and there were two separate lines. 490 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 17: There was one car, yeah, or one car. 491 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:39,960 Speaker 16: Line of people dropping off and they were coming with 492 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:47,720 Speaker 16: truckloads of donations all like clothes and furniture and household items, toothbrushes, diapers, 493 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 16: like everything. They just showed up and thousands of people 494 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 16: showed up. And then on the other side, you had 495 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,480 Speaker 16: the thousands of people who showed up in the receiving 496 00:26:56,520 --> 00:27:00,640 Speaker 16: line and would go through and your people would would 497 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:02,640 Speaker 16: greet them and say what do you need? 498 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:04,640 Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, Yeah. 499 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,160 Speaker 18: The incredible thing about that was it was like it 500 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:11,439 Speaker 18: it was kind of a glorious chaos. It really it 501 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 18: really taught us the links of how much we're willing 502 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,720 Speaker 18: to serve. And when you know, Dave called me from 503 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:18,359 Speaker 18: iHeart and he said, we want to partner with you 504 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 18: guys and bring our whole team and bring awareness. 505 00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:22,160 Speaker 7: And it just gave us. 506 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 18: Confidence to believe that, Look, there's other people as crazy 507 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:26,040 Speaker 18: as we are, you know, they're willing to like have 508 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 18: that spirit of a responder. 509 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:28,280 Speaker 17: Yeah. 510 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:31,040 Speaker 18: Well, and so people are showing up and and cars 511 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 18: we've never seen before. 512 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:32,280 Speaker 15: You know. 513 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:33,639 Speaker 7: Typically in LA we work with a. 514 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:36,479 Speaker 18: Lot of people who are really you know, less than 515 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:40,160 Speaker 18: paycheck to paycheck. But suddenly people became paycheck to paycheck, 516 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 18: you know, or and the only asset they had was 517 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 18: in their home. And just we said, you know what, 518 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 18: we're going to let the call to action is going 519 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,360 Speaker 18: to come from the cries of the people. And that's 520 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:54,840 Speaker 18: what happened. We just made the call whatever people needed 521 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 18: at the time, and that's what That was a beautiful thing. 522 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,359 Speaker 16: And as we also talked about a little bit, a 523 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,960 Speaker 16: lot of the people who need the help now are 524 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,720 Speaker 16: not normally people who would need or ask for help. 525 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 17: I mean a lot of these people are homeowners. 526 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:08,760 Speaker 7: It's very different from us. 527 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:10,920 Speaker 18: You could simply we deal with people who just really 528 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:14,440 Speaker 18: like day to day in survival mode and now they 529 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:16,480 Speaker 18: are but at the same time, their mindset's like. 530 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:18,359 Speaker 7: How can I get this back to you? How can 531 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 7: I help somebody else? So it was a whole different dynamic. 532 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 18: It was so much of like people's heart and soul 533 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:25,720 Speaker 18: was into something, but like, hey, if you do something 534 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,439 Speaker 18: for me, I got do. It's almost like an exchange 535 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,760 Speaker 18: mentality when there is no exchange from us. It's freely 536 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:35,800 Speaker 18: you receive and freely you give. And we didn't see 537 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:37,760 Speaker 18: anything as I have to. We saw everything as one 538 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 18: great get to and it was a great joy and 539 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:41,200 Speaker 18: it does. 540 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 17: Your heart good, I tell you. I mean I wasn't 541 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 17: here every day. 542 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:45,880 Speaker 16: I was out here a couple of times and just 543 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:48,560 Speaker 16: to see it, I mean I get back my car 544 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:49,520 Speaker 16: and start crying. 545 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 17: But just because it was so beautiful. You see people 546 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 17: come forward to help. 547 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 18: That was our commitment, and everything we do is longevity. 548 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:00,320 Speaker 18: Wehad programs are one year. A homeless family house is 549 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 18: one year. So when we take on something, we kind 550 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,000 Speaker 18: of are usually the last ones to leave. 551 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 17: Yeah, And as you mentioned, you've got the you serve 552 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:09,520 Speaker 17: lunch to people every. 553 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:11,480 Speaker 7: Day, you have twelve hundred meals, twelve. 554 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 17: Hundred meals, you have the rehab, you have the housing, 555 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:15,479 Speaker 17: and that's still all going on. 556 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:16,120 Speaker 7: Yep. 557 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 17: And then this is on top of it. 558 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,239 Speaker 18: Yeah, and even emergency housing people still coming in from 559 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,560 Speaker 18: the fires, were giving them places to stay on the 560 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 18: campus and making it work. So I think the cool 561 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 18: thing about the Dream Center is is very you know, 562 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 18: we have a basic structure, but. 563 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 7: We're always willing to pivot and move. 564 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,160 Speaker 18: And that's kind of the hallmark of who we are 565 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,280 Speaker 18: is that, you know, man's need is God's call. 566 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,640 Speaker 7: For the day they have a need, that's our call. 567 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:42,479 Speaker 17: Okay, And Pastor Matthew, what do you hope for moving forward? 568 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:47,000 Speaker 18: I just hope that people, you know, and moving forward 569 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 18: to this new year, would have the confidence to believe 570 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:51,840 Speaker 18: that there's light at the end of the tunnel. I 571 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:53,520 Speaker 18: think a lot of people have lost their confidence, you know, 572 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 18: and lost their their faith and their hope and and 573 00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:58,920 Speaker 18: maybe they can get into a place of dreaming again 574 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:01,560 Speaker 18: because with like this hits you, it just takes away 575 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:04,240 Speaker 18: your ability to want to believe for something more because 576 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:06,120 Speaker 18: so much has been taken for you. But that my 577 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,720 Speaker 18: hope is that like through kindness and love and through 578 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 18: people that are there for them, it would just spark 579 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 18: a little bit of like, you know what, people got 580 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:14,880 Speaker 18: my back and I feel like I can make it. 581 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:16,760 Speaker 17: It's a year later and people still need help. 582 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 16: I mean there was ten thousand homes lost, ten pounds. 583 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:23,200 Speaker 7: Yeah, but we're still responding. 584 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,280 Speaker 18: We're still just like, hey, i'll take that call, I'll 585 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 18: do this, I'll do that, And everyone's willing to drop 586 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 18: everything and drop the hat. 587 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:29,920 Speaker 7: Hey you can't do it, I'll do it. 588 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:32,320 Speaker 18: And I think that's the heartbeat that's got to drive 589 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:35,400 Speaker 18: things like this because the need is going to be 590 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:36,280 Speaker 18: with us for a long time. 591 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:40,240 Speaker 17: Pastor Matthew, thank you so much. Dream Center La. They 592 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:41,280 Speaker 17: are doing God's work. 593 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:45,800 Speaker 16: I mean, like literally, if you want to help out donations, 594 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 16: you can find out more information. 595 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:48,720 Speaker 7: At dreamcenter dot org. 596 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 17: Thank you again, Pastor matt thank you. 597 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:53,480 Speaker 2: And as this recovery and these investigations continue. After last 598 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:57,320 Speaker 2: January's fires, KFI News will always bring you the very latest, 599 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:01,160 Speaker 2: asking the hard questions and finding the air. We thank 600 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 2: you for joining us for La Fires one year later 601 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 2: with the KFI News team. I'm Michael Monks and this 602 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 2: is kf I AM six forty. 603 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 1: Kf I AM six forty on demand