A series of large wildfires near Los Angeles led to evacuation orders and forced power outages, forcing Korean Americans and other residents of the area to leave their homes and live a nomadic life until last weekend.
In particular, La Cañada, La Crescenta, Montrose and Pasadena, which are affected by the Eaton Fire, are areas with a large Korean population, and many Koreans are living with the uncomfortable daily life of ‘indirect damage from wildfires.’
Residents of these neighborhoods complained of extreme fatigue as evacuation orders and forced power outages continued. “On the first day of the outage, I tried to make butter at home with a lantern and a burner,” said Hyunsoo Kim, 51, of Montrose, ”but the food in the refrigerator spoiled, there was no heat, and the air pollution was so bad that it was hard to breathe, so I and my family moved to a hotel in Orange County.”
“We’ve been informed that electricity will be restored soon, but we’re worried that we could lose power again,” Kim said, adding, ”We don’t have any way to compensate for the nearly $200 a night we spent in the hotel.”
On January 10, traffic lights along Foothill Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue, the main thoroughfare in central La Crescenta, were out of service and most businesses in the area were closed.
“The power has been out for days, so I’ve thrown away all my ingredients and haven’t been able to do business,” said a Korean-American business owner who runs a chicken restaurant in La Crescenta. ”I can’t leave the restaurant empty, so I’ve stayed open, but some of my neighbors have burned down their homes, so I can see how they feel,” he said, “I have to pay rent and salaries for my employees.”
At a Korean grocery in La Crescenta, power was restored after noon on January 10. “We had to throw away all of our refrigerated and frozen food because of the power outage, and we don’t know when the power will go out again,” said a manager of the grocery.
“We’re in the district controlled by the Glendale Department of Water and Power, so we’ve had power and water since January 9,” said Haley Lee, 37, of La Crescenta. “My neighbors in the Southern California Edison district are still without power and internet, so I’m hoping things will get better soon.”
Both the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Southern California Edison (SCE) say they are forced to implement the Public Safety Shutoff Program (PSPS), a mandatory power outage measure to prevent wildfire damage. “We expect it will be a few more days before power is restored, but we are committed to restoration,” said SCE spokeswoman Gabriela Ornella.
Residents in the La Crescenta area were warned on January 11 that they could lose power again as the wildfires continue to spread.
“We returned home as power was restored in some areas, but we couldn’t even unpack our belongings without being told that we could be without power again,” said Sean Kim. ”It seems like the government’s response to the wildfires is constantly changing, which only deepens our distrust.”
Meanwhile, amid a rash of burglaries in wildfire-affected areas, the LAPD announced on January 12 that it has made 29 more arrests. Among them was a suspect who dressed as a firefighter and attempted to burglarize an unoccupied home. “In some cases, they were wearing fire helmets and jackets to break into homes,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said, noting that ”these people will do whatever it takes to get what they want.”
A man and his passengers in a truck were arrested in the Pacific Palisades area, who said they were with the fire department, according to police. However, this turned out to be false when police checked with fire officials. The suspects were also found to be in possession of illegal weapons.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
