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MU student’s family among several impacted by California wildfires

COLUMBIA, MO.

The city of Los Angeles continued its efforts to contain the wildfires that have been ravaging the area for nearly two weeks on Saturday.

T.J. Wiggins, a junior at the University of Missouri said the fire has directly impacted his family back home in L.A.

"I personally know two people that have lost everything and a number of people that had to move because their house is about to be burned down or is still in danger of being burned down," Wiggins said.

It has been eleven days since the ferocious wildfires erupted in California, leaving families displaced and entire communities on edge. Charles Johnson, who has lived in the state for over 50 years said the experience has been life-altering.

"Well, it really has been trying for us. We had power lines in our neighborhood and because of the winds that were just so violent, blew them down. And so by way of that, we had to become displaced and so we literally for the last five days had to evacuate to a local hotel," Johnson said.

Wiggins, who had just returned to campus after celebrating Christmas with his family, said the timing of the fires caused him significant worry.

"It was really stressful. I feel like I had a lot of second thoughts about things that I probably could have done when I was home, maybe like preparing my mom for anything that happened or helping her with stuff around the house," Wiggins said. "Also, the really scary thought of you know, what if that was my last time being in my house."

The fires are not only destroying homes but also taking a toll on people’s health.

“The smoke is unbelievable,” Wiggins said. “My mom has an autoimmune disease and can’t go outside for long periods."

Johnson said himself, his wife and two daughters all developed respiratory issued due to the air quality.

"You know, people have been affected both indirectly and directly. There are many people in a direct way and there is no comparison to loss of family or loved one's property but the air quality really is truly bad," Johnson said.

Johnson works from home along with his wife and said he's experienced many challenges when trying to complete work since the evacuation.

"But it was really uncomfortable because literally moving at the speed of life to get out of your home and you know all of us in my home we work from home. And so really it created a real predicament as it related to work," Johnson said.

Despite these challenges, Johnson highlighted a sense of community among the evacuees staying at the hotel.

"But what was really unique about it is many times we came down together for dinner, you saw clusters of people just down at dinner telling each other stories and supporting one another in a great way," Johnson said.

One of Wiggins’ friends has lost their home entirely. A link to donate to their recovery efforts can be found here.

Meanwhile, Johnson, who works with Ground Zero and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that plans are underway to open another disaster recovery center to provide immediate assistance to families in need. However, the community still needs more volunteers.

"We need volunteers to make sure that we're organizing the supplies and dispatching the supplies," Johnson said. "And our goal for this situation is hopefully we can really develop a playbook because what we're noticing now is that every time there is an issue or a situation it's almost like we have to start all over again."

Article Topic Follows: Local News

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Euphenie Andre

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