Golfing in the Fire

I figured the only way to begin my blog was by sharing my own story- or rather, my grandparents' story.

On the afternoon of January 7th, my grandpa was driving down Sunset Boulevard, heading home from a round of golf. Instead of thinking about reuniting with his wife and dog at their condo on Haverford Avenue, he was gripped with fear as he glanced to the side and saw flames rising from the mountains. Rushing home, he packed a bag, expecting an evacuation of just a few days at most.

My grandparents fled to a hotel in Marina del Rey, leaving their dog, Dusty, at a kennel. Days turned into weeks, and they had no idea whether the home they had lived in for 20 years was still standing. Living out of just three pairs of clothing, my grandparents endured an agonizing wait. I vividly remember calling my grandma on January 20th, when she sighed and said, "It’s truly depressing. We have no clue what we’re going to do."

Through a connection with a private firefighter, my grandpa and uncle were able to re-enter their building, across from Gelson’s grocery store. To their relief, the condo was still standing- but the city around it was not. The Palisades, once a vibrant coastal town, had turned into devastation. When my grandpa visited on January 22nd, he described it as "third-world misery in a first-world setting."

Unfortunately, this story doesn’t have a happy ending yet. My grandparents are now living in an Airbnb in Richmond, Virginia, near my cousins, aunt, and uncle. Their building is uninhabitable, and the place they had hoped to spend the rest of their lives in is gone.

But despite everything, my grandparents remain the same happy, resilient people they’ve always been. They focus on what they still have—family, health, and each other. Though the road ahead is uncertain, they are hopeful for the rebuilding process and look forward to the day they can once again call Los Angeles home.

My grandparents: Janet Rifkin & David Kaplan