--:-- Ryan Knutson: Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Ryan Knutson.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: It's Monday, January 13th. Today, we're going to take you on a journey back to the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, a place that's been decimated over the past few days by raging wildfires.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: In areas where the fires have burned out, authorities have started to let residents back in to assess the damage and to see what's left of their homes. In one of the cars was a woman named Mariah Lanfar.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Yeah, so we had a clue that our house was gone when we got this map from, like, Cal Fire or whatever. But they didn't update this for so long, so I was, like, holding out this, so this is where our house is.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: With her was a man from her neighborhood named Gavin Bates.
--:-- Gavin Bates: My wife didn't even want to come. She's like, why are you going? I feel like I just need to see it myself. Totally, I feel the same way. I just need to see it. It's hard. Yeah.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Getting into the neighborhood was a slow process. Police were escorting people in, in part to protect against looters. And they only let a handful of cars in at a time.
--:-- Gavin Bates: Maybe I should roll up the window. I think it's going to be smoky. It's going to be miserable.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Also in the car was our colleague Catherine Sayre, who Mariah said could tag along to report on the damage.
--:-- Catherine Sayre: Well, this is more fun than being all alone, so...
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Catherine spent the next few hours with Mariah and Gavin, just two of the thousands of people whose lives have been turned upside down by the ongoing fires in Los Angeles.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Mariah, who's 24, lived with her 80-year-old great-aunt. Their house was a white, single-story family home with a blue awning and a big backyard.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Her aunt moved there in the mid-1970s. So my aunt bought her house first with her first husband, and then they got a divorce, and my aunt bought the house from him.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Mariah said it was filled with a lifetime of possessions, like her aunt's art collection and handmade wooden furniture.
--:-- Gavin Bates: Gavin was a much more recent addition to the neighborhood. He moved there in 2010 with his wife. Now they have two kids and lived in an area known as the Alphabet Streets.
--:-- Gavin Bates: Last Tuesday morning, Gavin and his family were at home when smoke began to appear on the hills above their house.
--:-- Gavin Bates: That day, the Santa Ana winds gusted up to 100 miles an hour, equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane fanning the flames. By the afternoon, they decided to evacuate and go to a hotel.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Mariah and her aunt first noticed a smoke plume at 10:30 a.m. while out on their daily walk. A few hours later, they got a call from the city telling them to evacuate.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Mariah grabbed what she could, her passport, her journals, and managed to record a video as she was leaving.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: She played it for Catherine. This is behind Pali High as I was leaving.
--:-- Catherine Sayre: What were you thinking at that point?
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: We're so f***ed. We're so f***ed.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: While Gavin and his family waited in the hotel, they were able to get a sense of what was going on back at their house.
--:-- Gavin Bates: Their home was outfitted with a security system that logged when things were tampered with. And as the flames reached his home, he got a painful play-by-play of what was happening.
--:-- Gavin Bates: And so the first thing, the heat shattered the glass around 10. And then you can see... A.M., P.M. P.M. And you can see the progression of things breaking in the house from 10 to 11, whatever.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: As of Monday morning, more than 12,000 structures have been destroyed by the LA fires. Everything from mobile homes to celebrity mansions, as well as businesses and schools.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to ash. The focus now for people affected, like Mariah and Gavin, is to figure out what they lost. And to do that, they need to see what's left of their homes.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Mariah wanted to see if anything had survived and to take a photo for her aunt, who said she'd have to see it to believe it.
--:-- Gavin Bates: In Gavin's case, he knew his house had been destroyed. He happened to see drone coverage of his neighborhood on the news. And a neighbor had sent him a picture.
--:-- Gavin Bates: But it looked like there might be one thing left. His car. A silver BMW he's had for 16 years.
--:-- Gavin Bates: The irony of my situation is my wife really doesn't like my car. She's like, I don't really want that car anyway. It's fine, it's gone. It's like, I'm like, if that car survives, I've never given up.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Another reason Mariah and Gavin were waiting in line was to take photos for insurance claims they planned to file.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Our insurance has been good so far, but they're like, we need pictures. I know. Yeah, right. It's just started. We need you to go in. And it's like, my car, my car might be melted right inside. It may not start.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: The author guy's like, your car looks fine. And I'm like, okay, I need to go and start it.
--:-- Gavin Bates: We haven't even, like, we haven't even showed the insurance that my aunt's house is gone. Like, they're asking, yeah, like, and we have to find, I'm going through my online shopping and collecting receipts there. Like, they want every, they want as much as possible.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: And what do you do with antiques?
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Yeah.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: So far, the fires have racked up more than $50 billion in losses. It's the costliest fire in U.S. history. And that number is likely to grow, considering the fires aren't contained yet.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: At least 24 people have died. By 3 p.m. on Friday, hours after they first arrived in line, Mariah's car finally made it to the front.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: When they got there, a police officer was waiting. He told Mariah and Gavin that they be escorted up to their homes and that they only have a few minutes there.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: It's a quick, quick, quick in and out. Yeah. So my car is in there. So I'm getting a ride to drive my car out. I have a picture of it. And if it doesn't work, I'm going to drive him out. That's fine.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: When you go in your house, it's not to go in and hang out. My house is gone.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: We will.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Whatever palliables you're going to get, or medicine, it's whatever you can get in now within, like, five minutes.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Yeah, I'm just taking pictures.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: With a few other cars and a police escort, they began driving towards the neighborhood.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: How are y'all feeling right now?
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: It's like that numb feeling, right? It's like...
--:-- Gavin Bates: Defeated.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: There is no words. No words that really do it justice.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Yeah.
--:-- Gavin Bates: Yeah. We'll be right back.
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--:-- Ryan Knutson: As Mariah, Gavin, and Catherine were escorted into the neighborhood by police, they saw the scale of the destruction with their own eyes.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Oh, my God, look at that. I don't even recognize it. This is Las Casas.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Mariah drove them up towards her street.
--:-- Gavin Bates: I literally don't. Yeah? So crazy.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: The fire's erratic path turned whole sections of the neighborhood into charred ruins.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: This one's still smoking. Literally, it's still smoking.
--:-- Gavin Bates: And Gavin and Mariah began pointing out the random objects that had survived the fire.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: How did these trash cans not melt?
--:-- Gavin Bates: Incredibly, some houses were still standing.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Oh, my God. Yeah, untouched. Three houses. Three houses in a row.
--:-- Gavin Bates: The little scooter's still on the porch. Oh, my gosh.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Eventually, they turned onto Mariah's street.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: This street is... Oh my gosh. I mean... Oh my gosh.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: They drove down a row of burnt houses until Mariah spotted hers.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Okay, we're right here. Let me know if I can do anything. Thank you.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Mariah got out of the car and walked through the rubble.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: She called her aunt on FaceTime.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: It's completely gone, auntie. So here's the back steps, okay? I don't even recognize. There's the laundry. I recognize anything. I don't even... I don't even... I can even itemize. I mean, I just can even tell.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Oh my god, the shovel! The shovel's fine.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Mariah showed Catherine where her bedroom had been and reflected on the irreplaceable belongings that were now gone.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: This was my little living area and then my aunt's living area was over there.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Her husband was an amazing woodworker and he had made this beautiful bed and furniture.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: There's the safe. I will... Yeah, I'll call you guys. I'll call you guys and make a plan once I'm out of here. I gotta go though. Bye. Love you.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: How are you feeling?
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Oh my god, I just... I'm just... It's overwhelming.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: After taking some photos, Mariah and Catherine got back into the car.
--:-- Gavin Bates: That looked emotional. Yeah, that looked a lot.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: And then it was Gavin's turn.
--:-- Gavin Bates: Yeah, so I'm going to take the left here. Okay, yeah.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: As expected, Gavin's house was gone, but his BMW was still there.
--:-- Gavin Bates: That's my car right there. I was going to say.
--:-- Gavin Bates: The car looked remarkably untouched by the fire.
--:-- Gavin Bates: But the real test was whether it would start.
--:-- Gavin Bates: Other residents that had been escorted along with Mariah and Gavin looked on as he gave it a try.
--:-- Gavin Bates: And then... Oh my God, how is that even possible? How is it even possible? I cannot believe that! Woo!
--:-- Ryan Knutson: It was a small victory after a long day.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: By now, the few minutes Mariah and Gavin had inside their neighborhood were up.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: The sun was setting, and it was time to part ways.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Thank you. Good luck. Thank you. Oh my god. My new bestie. That's what we're saying. Bye. Okay.
--:-- Gavin Bates: Are you going to get me right up? Yes. Okay. Thank you. I'm going to go that way.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Gavin got into his car and drove off to a friend's house where he and his family are now staying.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Mariah and Catherine got back into the Honda Civic and started making their own journey out of the Palisades.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: So how do you feel like your auntie took it?
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Good. I think she, you know, sees it and she is, yep, confirmed.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: I don't know if you heard her, but she's like, Mariah, don't cry.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: My mom's like, Auntie, you should cry. I didn't hear that. Yeah, she was like, don't. Because I was crying.
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: She was like, don't cry. But I think she is really good for her to see it, have closure, and just have someone go, a family member go there, you know?
--:-- Mariah Lanfar: Yeah. I think that was really important.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: The Palisades Fire, which has burned more than 23,000 acres, is only 14% contained.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Wind gusts are expected to pick up again tonight, and other major fires are still burning around the city.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: So while Mariah and Gavin now begin the difficult process of trying to rebuild their lives, other LA residents are still at risk of losing their homes.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: That's all for today. Monday, January 13th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Additional reporting in this episode by Joe Flint.
--:-- Ryan Knutson: Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.
