As spring unfurls its leaves and the latest breaking news dominate our screens, we aim to continue to share resources, stories of those who were directly impacted by the January wildfires in L.A. County — and what they need now.
Journalist and literary publicist Diana Daniele lives at “ground zero” in the Palisades Highlands, which is in the high-severity fire zone where the Palisades fire started. Below is her story.
Who lives in your household and how you are holding up during evacuation?
We are a family of three [including her husband and daughter] here in L.A., as my son Drew graduated from college and took a job in Nashville. My daughter, Dayna Daniele, is 18 and is a senior at Palisades High School and is active in Pali’s drama department. [Palisades High was damaged in the fire].
We were called to evacuate less than an hour [after the fire started] due to our proximity and the fierceness of the Santa Ana winds. However, as we were preparing to evacuate, we were then told by the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) to “shelter in place.” This is because residents who were already evacuating down Palisades Drive (the only street in and out of the Highlands) had panicked at the heat and size of the flames and the falling palm trees and had abandoned their cars and run bodily toward nearby Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and the safety of the ocean. LAFD had to call for bulldozers to move the cars blocking the road. When Palisades Drive was cleared, we were again called to evacuate, which we did via police escort that afternoon, driving through a ring of fire at the bottom of Palisades Drive. Each side of the street was engulfed in flames where the street meets Sunset Boulevard. As we drove down PCH toward the freeway, we could see the bluffs already burning. The sky was thick with smoke and an eerie golden-gray color. We evacuated to my mother’s home in Orange County.
After 3 1/2 weeks at my mom’s house, we moved back up to L.A. and are now living in an Airbnb in Santa Monica. Pali High is set to open for in-person instruction in early April, and we wanted our daughter to live close enough so she could attend. Currently, Pali High is online, which Dayna did during the pandemic and despised.
We are holding up. It’s a lot — often overwhelming. However, we are buoyed by the tremendous amount of love and support we’ve received from friends and family. The compassion and generosity of spirit has been incredible to experience. It has been both a balm and a joy amid the grief and loss.
How has support from the community been?
Dayna and I first went to Vuori, a brand that was giving clothes to those displaced by the fire, as there are Vuori stores in Orange County, where we were staying. A week later, we drove up to L.A. to go to Zibby’s Bookshop’s pop-up store in Santa Monica, which was a wonderful experience. We left there with both our bags and our hearts full. That evening, I attended a support group at Zibby’s Bookshop, where author and trauma therapist Meghan Riordan Jarvis was facilitating. It was incredible — a much-needed safe space to share and grieve. On that same evening, Dayna attended a fundraiser for Pali High students and supporters on the Santa Monica Pier.
Also, I want to give a shoutout to my friend Katie Jones Stokes, an incredible watercolorist here in L.A., who painted a picture of our home, which we so miss. Our house is currently smoke-damaged and uninhabitable, but we are fortunate that, one day, we will be able to return. I talked to Katie, and she would like to offer to do the same for any L.A. Parent readers who are victims of any of the fires here in Southern California.
What concerns do you have about your daughter’s education and school attendance in the aftermath of the fire?
Dayna detests online school and tends to lose both her determination and her focus. Hence, it is a challenge. Our family has donated to “Raise Pali,” which is the fundraising campaign to accelerate opening the school at an alternative location, as well as funding the cleaning up and rebuilding necessary to reopen in the Palisades. Dayna and I have been posting about “Raise Pali” on our socials to encourage donations to the cause.
What do you think evacuees need most this spring and summer?
I would say spring and summer clothes. Those whose houses burned don’t have bathing suits or any other summer offerings. Evacuees like me who still have (damaged) homes are planning to not be able to live in our homes for at least six months, more likely 12. Also, I’d like to see grocery stores give away gift cards. We all have to eat. Also, I hope that people in Southern California don’t forget about us evacuees now that the fires are (finally) fully extinguished and there are other pressing news stories on the agenda.
What is home/community to you, especially now?
Things are replaceable. At least, you can live without many of them. People are what is important. If I am with my family, I am home, no matter where I am. People are also our neighbors and part of our broader community. I am on several large group texts with neighbors and friends from my Palisades community and it feels so good to still be able to share information and help each other along on this journey we have been forced to begin.
