Raymond Francis can hold in his hands all the items he saved from his home in Altadena, California, which was destroyed by a forest fire.
One is a blue metal box that contains his most precious mementos — such as NASA and military medals and memorabilia from geological excavations in Canada, glimpses of Francis’ life and work.
Originally from Sudbury, Ont., he moved to Los Angeles a few years ago to work at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in artificial intelligence robotics.
Another memento is a Canadian maple leaf patchwork quilt made by his mother and grandmother, with all their names embroidered in the corner.
Francis moved into his newly purchased home on December 15th. He was supposed to host his first dinner there on the night of Jan. 7, but instead fled, like thousands of others, as strong Santa Ana winds pushed the fire deep into the LA suburbs from the east.
“It’s very difficult to lose everything. I had a vision of what the future would be like after I settled into that house and now it looks very different,” he told CBC News.
His house and most of the others around it are gone. The streets of Altadena hit by the Eaton wildfire look like a messed-up war zone – with houses burned to the ground with a handful left completely intact, with oranges and lemons still hanging intact from the fruit trees.
The Consul General of Canada estimates that one million Canadians live in California, Arizona and Nevada. Los Angeles, in particular, has long attracted Canadians working in the entertainment, music and aviation industries. The fires turned many of their lives upside down, and for some, the connections to Canada are evident in what they chose to save and their upcoming plans.
Sifting through the ashes
Karyn Weber and her husband, Rob, are considering spending a few months in her hometown of Vancouver while they make plans to renovate their home in LA’s Palisades neighborhood. He says a lower Canadian dollar could help offload their insurance money for the two years he expects the process to take.
– We always talked about spending some time there and maybe this is our chance. she said.
The family secured a monthly rental in Santa Monica, after a process Weber describes as “horrendous.” The day after the fire, she began filling out rental applications in the area only to be repeatedly outbid. Although California has laws against foreclosure, she says some people have offered to pay far more than the asking price of a home or told landlords they would pay a year in advance to rent a property.
“The prices are going up and up and up,” she said. “It’s also crazy, because who has that kind of money? It’s horrible.”
Musician Brian Hughes was able to save one guitar from his home and music studio in Alta Dena, California, after losing 40 others in the wildfires that swept through the LA area last week.
The Webers were able to see what was left of their home on Saturday, when police provided an escort to the affected area. In the ashes, they found a cup of tea from her grandmother’s wedding, her son’s clay volcano from a school project ten years ago, and metal bookends from a trip to China.
He says that the saved memories will eventually have a special place in their renovated house. In her rush to get out on Tuesday, her daughter also managed to grab the most basic of Canadian necessities – ice skates.
“My son was a hockey player and my daughter was a big time skater and we have their skates,” Weber said. – We are Canadians.
‘It was heaven’
Guitarist Brian Hughes is relying on a network of Canadian friends after his Altadena home and music studio were destroyed in the Eaton fire. He and his wife, Pamela, are currently staying at the Venice Beach guesthouse of an Ontario friend and plan to spend a few weeks at the Pasadena apartment of the Edmonton-raised former guitar student, who is currently on tour.
“We are happy to be here with our good friends,” he said.
Hughes fronts Canadian singer-songwriter Lorena McKennitt’s touring band, playing guitar and other stringed instruments such as oud and balalaika. He saved one guitar, but 40 others, many antique instruments of sentimental value, were destroyed in the fire. Hughes says 75 percent of the instruments he lost are “irreplaceable” and calls the loss of his backyard studio, where he wrote and recorded albums, a big one.
– It was heaven. he said.
Hughes is not sure if he will build again in the same location. He doesn’t think he’ll replace all the instruments he’s lost, saying this could be an opportunity to accumulate smaller assets.
“It’s like we’re starting all over again, restarting our life,” he said.
