“I lived in the alphabet streets in the Palisades, and when I first received the evacuation alert there was no thought in my mind that it would ever reach my house. Slowly throughout the night, as my eyes were glued to the news, I saw the flames slowly approach my house, before finally receiving a video of my entire street up in flames. From seeing people you knew every time you left your house, to being just minutes away from every friend you grew up with, the Palisades was the best place on the planet, and there was nowhere else I’d rather have grown up.” -ANONYMOUS STUDENT

“My house burnt down in the early morning of 1/8/25 due to the Eaton fire in Altadena. You see these types of things in the news and movies and say to yourself, “this would never happen to me” but the truth is, there is no precedent for experiencing something like this. The generosity of Loyola and my community has truly been a light in the darkness, showing me that every act of service we do as a Loyola student isn’t to be taken for granted.” -ZACHARY BLOSS ’27

“Waking up at 5 AM to the sound of police sirens and the fire department evacuating my neighborhood, not knowing if our homes would still be standing upon our return, was catastrophic. My family glued to the TV, while friends were losing their homes, and all I could do was hope for the best. The uncertainty was chilling, and each day felt like an eternity.” -JOSEPH ACUNA ’28

“My personal experience from the Los Angeles fires can be summarized with the time I spent organizing necessities at the Loyola drive. Even though the event was devastating, I felt hopeful that so many people were spending their time assisting others.” -JOHN MASTANDREA ’25”

“After abruptly leaving Theology class to call my parents for an update on the newly sparked Palisades fire, I was told to immediately head to my grandparents’ apartment in Beverly Hills–a smart decision in retrospect. My parents were able to make a brief escape to our house to rescue my two cats, and they headed to a hotel in Marina del Rey with my brothers, while I stayed at my grandparents’ with my cats. After an intense week of watching endless news channels with my grandparents and hearing about friends who lost their houses, I went back to school for an entire week while still under evacuation orders. Luckily, on Sunday, evacuation orders for my street were lifted, and I was able to return to my house, despite two houses on my street being burned down.”-ANONYMOUS STUDENT