ALTADENA, Cali. — The winds picked up, the cell towers went down, and the panic began to set in.
Oklahoma native Josiah Conrad has spent the last decade in Altadena with his wife, Erin, and their two young children.
As the Santa Anna winds started whipping on Jan. 7, the Conrads started discussing their options for getting out of town.
“The cell towers went down too, so it went from having a couple bars to having zero bars, no internet, no phone coverage," said Conrad. "We were trying to make a decision as to whether or not we should leave, even before there was an evacuation order because we weren’t sure we would get it.”
Moments later, a neighbor came pounding on their door, telling them it was time to go.
“On his way up, he was coming up Altadena drive which is kind of to the east of us and where the fire was coming from, he has incredible video of the entire canyon on fire coming towards us," said Conrad.
Two days later, a friend of the Conrad's found a route that had yet to be blocked off.
When they made it back up to their property, all that was left was the chimney.
“It’s a lot to take in when your whole house suddenly goes up in flames, that is like a hard reset," he said. "You process as you approach and realizing the whole neighborhoods gone, and then you realize you see what’s left of your house and you can’t even understand what it is because it doesn’t look like a house. You’re trying to wrap your head around each of those tiny things that you’ve lost in indiscernible shapes in the wreckage and then you suddenly realize 'Oh that shape is my son’s cast iron bed that melted.'”
Another piece to this life alter story for so many floating across the sunshine state - a lack of insurance.
The Conrads had been renting their home for the last decade. So, without coverage, they're rebuilding their lives from the ground up.
“As you go further south down the mountain, there is a line where there is a lower fire risk, and you could get insurance further lower, but that particular place was far enough up that you couldn’t," said Conrad. "The risk seems small when you’re talking about a 75-year-old home with giant trees and a whole neighborhood all around it. So you accept the risk and move forward.”
As an Oklahoman, Conrad compared what his community has become to the EF-5 tornado that devastated Moore in 2013.
“There’s all these things that each one is it’s own loss that you’re trying to grapple with and they keep getting bigger and bigger in your head until you look up and then you realize each house has the same story now," Cond
For the time being, the Conrads are staying with friends nearby — also Oklahoma natives.
While the road ahead is long and uncertain, their California community, Oklahoma family, friends, and even strangers are rallying behind them.
“Our friends from Tulsa who have set up a GoFundMe for us have been wildly supportive; it’s just been incredibly overwhelming," said Conrad. "Super thankful for those opportunities for ourselves, but also when we respond and say hey we’ve got more love than we can handle, here’s some other people who need some love, those people are just without a question going on to the next person saying how can I help you.”
That golden Oklahoma Standard.
As for ways Oklahomans can help, Conrad shared a list of other families in their community who could use extra support.
The Scripps Howard Fund is also collecting funds for disaster relief. To support, text SCRIPPS to 50155
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
